Slightly Dysfunctional
by T. Z. Townshend
Summary: Throughout the years, Loki has had many children. Together, he and Sigyn raised them with varying success. This is a tragedy fic. Reading it with a box of tissues at your side is recommended. Loki/Sigyn, Thor/Sif, Baldr/Nanna
1. Firstborn

**A/N: Hiya! This is going to be a series of stories about Loki and his children. Sigyn will be heavily featured and of Loki's children, Vali and Narfi will probably be the most focused on. There will also be plenty of appearances from Loki and Sigyn's siblings and parents as well as others. Anyway, I hope you like it. Please R&R.**

Firstborn

Lady Sigyn sat quietly by a large window, staring out at the night sky. The moonlight lit her features such that it was easy to see the anxiety in her face. She had been waiting for Loki to return home ever since the war had been declared over, but she had seen no sign of him yet. Sleep would not come to her and so she sat awake late at night, worrying and wishing she could dream of her husband's fate. Nothing seemed to be able to distract her from her grim thoughts and she contemplated going and waking Sif to discuss it with her, but then the door of the bedroom opened and Sigyn looked up. There, standing in the doorway, was the tall, green eyed man she loved. His dark hair was unkempt and he looked incredibly tired, but he never the less smiled when his gaze fell on her. Upon seeing Loki, the woman got up and rushed to him, embracing him tightly.

"Welcome home, my prince." she said softly. "I have missed you every moment you were away." For a long moment, he said nothing to this and simply held her, enjoying the feeling of being home, but then the man spoke in a deep and serious voice, locking his emerald gaze with her own blue-gray.

"Something has happened. I can feel it. Tell me." There was a hint of fear in Loki's expression as he said this, his mind going over ever possibility of what could have gone wrong. However, she did not react as he had expected. The blond blushed brightly at his perceptiveness and gave him a nervous smile.

"Yes, I have been anxious to tell you." There was a slight pause in which Loki frowned, giving her a look that begged her to elaborate. "I am with child." Immediately, the dark haired trickster felt his knees grow weak and his eyes widened with astonishment.

"What! Y-You mean...I am going to be a father?" he sputtered. Sigyn nodded, still smiling coyly. "I...when? How long have you known?"

"I am a few months along, but I only found out two weeks ago." The woman watched as Loki came to the conclusion that his wife had been pregnant for as long as she'd been his wife and his legs stopped working. She caught him before he could fall and sat him down on the end of their bed before sitting herself next to him. It was hard to discern whether Loki was overjoyed or horrified because the only emotion he was showing was shock and that worried Sigyn. "Are you happy, husband?" she asked. For a long while, he did not respond and Sigyn began to assume the worst, but then he spoke.

"I am very happy. It is just that I do not feel like I would be a good father."

"I think you will be a wonderful father." she soothed, resting her head against his shoulder and entwining her fingers with his. This seemed to give him a certain measure of assurance and with a faint smile, the dark haired man placed his hand on his wife's stomach.

"Our child." he muttered and the longer he thought about it, the more his smile grew.

* * *

The feast that was held in honor of the end of the war was like any other celebration that Asgardians held. There was eating, drinking, and storytelling all of which went on for many hours. Of course, being royalty, Loki and Sigyn attended, though they would have preferred to have a quiet evening to themselves. They entered the banquet hall decked out in their ceremonial armor and before the feast began, they mingled with inquisitive nobles, which turned out to be far more uncomfortable than they had expected. At one point, a warrior leaned over to Lady Sigyn and whispered to her.

"A pity one such as you should be kept by the Trickster. Come with me after the feast and I will give you freedom." The smirk on the man's face as he said this sickened Sigyn and she was about to voice this feeling when Loki's gaze abruptly snapped toward the warrior bearing a look of pure malice. Apparently the warrior hadn't been discrete enough in his whispering as the prince had heard what had been uttered to his wife.

"You should consider yourself lucky that I have not already slain you where you stand. The only reason I have not done so is because I know I am a better man than you. However, if I catch you near my wife again, I will have no qualms about ending you, understood?" Loki threatened only loud enough for the soldier to hear, his piercing green eyes staring daggers into the man's very soul. This had the immediate effect of chasing away the would be lecher and Loki grinned to himself in satisfaction.

"What did you say to him?" Sigyn asked, looking slightly worried.

"Oh, I only let him know what happens to men who seek to lay hands on what is mine." he replied, earning him a 'you didn't have to do that' look from Sigyn. All day, Loki had been hovering around her protectively like an ever loyal watchdog and she found this somewhat amusing, but also very endearing. That hadn't been the first time a man had tried to make a pass at her that day and now she wouldn't be surprised if half the men in Asgard were particularly afraid of Loki Odinson. "I am only trying to protect you, love."

"I know. I appreciate it." Sigyn said with a small smile as they took their seats at the banquet table. Servants laid out the food and everyone began to tuck in. Volstagg and Thor immediately piled their plates high with some of everything and chowed down while everyone else nibbled away politely. No one seemed to notice for a long while that though Sigyn didn't wolf her meal, her plate seemed to frequently refill, sometimes with things she didn't even like. However, at one point, she caught Frigga staring at her and became nervous. "Your mother is staring at me." the blond whispered to Loki and his eyes were suddenly filled with horror and the expression he wore clearly said 'oh god she knows'. Sigyn saw this and let out a sigh. "Would you rather she spread the news or would you like to tell everyone yourself?" she asked. The prince held up two fingers to signify option number two after closing his eyes and pressing his palm to his forehead for a few moments and then proceeded to tap his fork against the side of his goblet, attracting the attention of everyone around them.

"My friends, I have an announcement to make." he began and everyone gave him their undivided attention because he rarely did things like this. "I am pleased to say that the Lady Sigyn and I are going to have a child." For a moment, everyone seemed dumbfounded, but then they all grinned and congratulated the couple happily. Sigyn blushed brightly enough for the both of them at this. Loki was just glad no one had thought it was a joke.

The following months proved to be very interesting for Loki and Sigyn. At least once a week for a while, Sigyn would get up in the morning and be sick, which worried her husband greatly until Frigga assured him that this was perfectly normal. In fact, whenever Loki had questions, he would go to his mother for answers, which actually became a frequent occurrence to the point that the queen just told him to stop worrying and just be there for Sigyn and everything would be alright. Loki took this advice with some difficulty since he found it very difficult to quash his anxiety, but he did spend practically ever waking hour with Sigyn. He was afraid this would annoy her, but actually she enjoyed having him around all the time.

They often had visitors, though Thor and Baldr were strangely the most frequent. The brothers seemed absolutely ecstatic at the idea of having a little nephew or niece, which may have been contributed to the fact that they themselves did not have children. Every time they came to see their brother and his wife, they asked how things were going and if the child was well. Sometimes, they would talk about what they would do to be good uncles.

"If it is a boy, I will train him to be a mighty warrior like me." Thor proclaimed. This did not sit well with Loki, but he let it slide a little.

"Only if he wishes it, brother." the dark haired man said. If he had his way, another sorcerer would be born to the family. He did not like the idea of his child taking after Thor.

"If it is a girl, I will tell her stories of my adventures when father finally allows me to travel outside of Asgard's gates and bring her gifts." Baldr announced with a smile. Sigyn shook her head at this and rubbed her stomach.

"It will be a boy." she told him.

"How do y- oh." At first, Loki was unsure how Sigyn could be so sure, but then he remembered that she was a Vanir and thus was able to dream the future. He was filled with joy at the thought of a son, though mainly because he wouldn't know the first thing about how to be a father to girl. Obviously Sigyn had known this because she gave him a pleasant smile when she said 'boy'.

* * *

When it finally came time for the baby to be born, the healers refused to let Loki in the room, saying that he would only get in the way, so he found himself glued to the door, listening anxiously to his wife's screams of pain. The rest of his family was sitting on golden benches nearby, looking concerned for the prince's mental health.

Eventually, Loki jumped back as the door opened and a healer came out to tell them it was a healthy boy and allowed the dark haired man in to see his wife and newborn son. He found Sigyn lying amongst white sheets, looking like she'd run to Muspelheim and back, holding a little bundle in her arms. She gave Loki a tired smile when she saw him come in and he sat himself next to her.

"Would you like to hold your son?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. He nodded and she handed him the bundle gently. A small, pale face looked up at him with bright emerald orbs and smiled, as if knowing this was his father. A tuft of silky black hair protruded from the top of the boy's head and it struck Loki just how much his child resembled him.

"Vali." the prince said with a teary eyed grin as the boy's tiny hand curled around his finger. To think that his love for Sigyn would produce such a beautiful offspring filled him with a great contentment that he had rarely known. It was a reminder to him of how just two years ago, his only joy could be found in his study of magic, but no spellbook could ever have given him the love Sigyn showed him, nor could it have ever born him a child. Loki had no regrets in choosing this path over his old one because of that. "I swear I will be the best father I can be to you and give you everything I never got from my father. And if that is not enough, then I pray that you be strong in the face of my shortcomings." he told Vali softly before returning him to his mother. Sigyn cradled the boy in her arms and hummed to him quietly until he fell asleep. Loki reached over and placed his hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"I love you." the blond murmured before dozing off from exhaustion. For a while, the prince just sat with her, gazing happily at his wife and son slumbering peacefully. Eventually the rest of their family filed into the room to quietly congratulate Loki and get a look at Vali. Many made the observation that the boy had the prince's looks and declared that he was to be considered an Aesir. Those members of Sigyn's side of the family who were present balked at this and were prepared to argue, but Loki would have none of it.

"Can he not be both? If Vali affiliates himself with one or the other or both, that will be his decision and his alone." he hissed, silencing the others. He knew it wasn't the end of this discussion, but he didn't want them to disturb Sigyn while she slept, especially with an issue that was so sensitive to her. Soon after, the extended family left and it was just Loki, Sigyn, and Vali again, which was bliss to the prince.

The healers kept his wife and son under their watch for another week before allowing them to leave. The night they came home, Sigyn sat with Vali by the window of the bedroom and Loki stood by them, looking up at the moon.

"He will be much like you, Loki." the woman said with a smile.

"Only in the good ways, I hope." he replied, looking somewhat concerned. He didn't want Vali to have to go through everything he'd gone through or make the same mistakes as his father.

"In all the best ways."

**A/N: Just so you know, this will probably be the only pregnancy story, so those of you who aren't fond of that stuff don't have to worry. Don't be surprised if I don't update for another week because I'm having trouble getting access to internet, but I promise I will still work on this even if I can't upload anything for a while. Oh! And another thing about this fic: I'm open to suggestions. If there is a senerio you would like to see me write, please don't hesitate to suggest it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and consider reviewing. I highly value every review I get. Thank you! ~T.Z.**


	2. Blessed with Issue

**A/N: Hiya! Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I love you all! Sorry it took so long to update, but I finally got my internet back. Also, sorry for only being able to give you one new chapter after a whole week, but I was having horrible writer's block after cranking this out. I only have a few measly little ideas for what to write about next. Anyway, please R&R.**

Blessed with Issue

Only two years after Vali was born, Loki and Sigyn decided to bring a second bundle of joy into their lives. They named him Narfi and he could have been easily confused with his brother if not for the fact that unlike Vali, he possessed bright blue-gray eyes much like his mother's. The two boys got along well and never cried or had tantrums, which their parents found very pleasant, though other people told them this was very strange. At age three, Vali was already capable of not only forming complex sentences, but also reading and writing (though his handwriting was very messy) and his just one year old brother would have coherent conversations with him.

"I think you have given birth to a pair of geniuses." Frigga observed with a smile as she sat with Sigyn and Loki one day and watched Vali, now six years old, teach Narfi the runic alphabet.

"They take after Loki. They see him in his study reading tome after tome and scrawling notes constantly. It is only natural that they would seek to imitate him." Sigyn explained, earning her a smirk from her husband.

"I am flattered." he said with a proud glance at his sons. Then Vali came toddling up to his mother, Narfi holding his hand behind him, his big green eyes looking up at her and sparkling the way they did whenever he was about to ask for something.

"Narfi and I would like you to take us to the garden and tell us about the nice plants." the boy requested in his little voice. Sigyn nodded and took Vali by the hand before standing up. "Can father and grandmother come too?"

"Well, Queen Frigga is busy and she has only been able to visit for a little while, so I do not think she can come with us, but if your father wishes to join us, he may." she told the child, glancing at Loki to see if he was up for this. He patted Vali and Narfi on the head gently and smiled when they looked up at him inquisitively.

"Of course." he assured them before following them out to palace gardens. As they walked among the trees and finely trimmed hedges, Loki hoisted Narfi up to sit on his shoulders and the three year old giggled joyfully. Vali walked between his parents, holding both their hands tightly. Sigyn told them about the flowers and trees and how some of the had magical properties, which fascinated the boys endlessly.

"Which one is your favorite?" Vali asked her. She thought on this for a moment before answering.

"Of trees, I like the conifer best, for it is always green and has healing properties. Of flowers, I am most fond of this one." Sigyn paused to point at a nearby purple and black flower that was in full bloom. "Your father once gave me one of these." A slight blush came to her cheeks when she saw the leer Loki was giving her.

"Why did father give you a flower?"

"He was trying to persuade me not to reveal to Lady Sif where he was because he played a trick on her that she did not appreciate."

"Is that why Aunt Sif does not like you, father?"

"Yes." Loki answered with a frown, suddenly reminded of how Vali and Narfi insisted upon calling Sif 'aunt', even though she wasn't really their aunt, much as she might act like it. It irked the prince, but he tolerated it mainly because she was a friend of both Sigyn and Thor and treated the boys with nothing but kindness. "But your mother has always been nice to me and that is why I married her." he added after a while, casting Sigyn a suggestive look. They continued on their stroll in the royal gardens and Loki found that he wished he had time for more of these sorts of things. He wanted to be there for his sons and show them that he loved him. He wanted to be a better father than Odin.

* * *

Late that evening, Loki, Sigyn, Vali, and Narfi returned to their tower after a rather long dinner. It had been prolonged mainly due to the fact that Baldr had announced his engagement to Nanna and everyone had felt the need to have a small celebration. Vali and Narfi had grown very tired and so Loki quickly found himself sitting in between their beds, reading them an 'old story' about a sorcerer, a dragon, and a maiden who could dream the future that was actually just a slightly edited version of a series of entries in Loki's journal. All the same, they seemed to enjoy the tale and dozed off just as he finished telling it. He put out the candles in the room out with a simple gesture of his hand and left, gently closing the door so as to be sure not to wake the boys.

Soon, Loki was in the comfort of his own bed with Sigyn curled up next to him and he wrapped his arm around her waist to draw her closer. She turned to face him with a sweet smile and rested her forehead against his.

"I do not think anyone could ever have asked for more wonderful children." she said. Loki reached up and stroked her long blond hair and nodded contently. Then suddenly there came a knock on the door and the prince rolled his eyes. What were the servants going to bother him with now? With a heavy sigh, he got up, smoothed his loose black shirt and opened the door. There, sure enough, stood a nervous servant girl. "What is it?" he asked sternly.

"M-my lord, three children are requesting your audience. They await you in the study." she told him with a bow. Loki quirked a dark eyebrow at the strangeness of this and after telling Sigyn he'd be back soon, he went off to his study. There, as promised, three children stood waiting for him. They all had silky black hair in various states of unruliness and this was the only indicator that they were at all related because they each had very unique appearances. The girl among them was thin with skin so pale it bordered on gray and her irises were a pure and striking white. She was not blind, as she definitely had pupils, but Loki had never seen eyes like this. The two boys standing on either side of her barely looked anything alike, though they both had yellowish-green eyes and slightly pointed ears. One wore gray furs and seemed to have done nothing to tame his hair, and the other was lanky, had sharp features, and had obviously made sure that not a single one of the hairs on his head was out of place.

"What is it you three wish to see me about at this time of night?" Loki demanded. Without saying a word, the girl took a piece of parchment from her dark purple cloak and handed it to him. Frowning, the prince took it and saw that it was a letter addressed to him. He opened it and read:

_Dear Loki Odinson,_

_ You have not heard from me since you took off all those years ago, but I have never forgotten you and the reason stands in front of you now. Our time together produced these children. Their names are Fenrir, Hela, and Jörmungandr and I refuse to take care of them any further. They have been a burden to me for far too long and so I have sent them to you._

_ I suppose I should give you fair warning about the boys. They can shapeshift. Fenrir becomes a wolf and Jörmungandr becomes a snake. You may have noticed that this has influenced their normal appearances. Also, do not be surprised if Hela laughs at something you yourself do not find amusing. She has a very morbid sense of humor._

_ In any case, they want to know their father and I can only hope you are truthful to them, even if you were not to me._

_ -Angrboða_

As Loki read, he felt his heart sink and when he finished the letter, he started to panic. What was he going to do? What was his wife going to say? He didn't want to burden her with this. Almost as if on cue, Sigyn appeared in the doorway looking concerned. All she had to do was look at the three children to know that they were his. Seeing the horrified look on her husband's face as he stared at her, she took the initiative to call a servant and ask that rooms be prepared, one for the boys and another for the girl. With them gone, Sigyn came to sit next to Loki and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and hung his head at this.

"It happened many years ago, before you came back into my life. I swear to you it meant nothing." he told her, his voice shaking slightly. "And I had no idea there would be children."

"Do not worry. I believe you, my love. They are welcome here." Sigyn soothed, entwining her fingers with Loki's. He looked up at her in astonishment, his green eyes glistening with the onset of tears.

"How can you so easily accept responsibility for children who are not your own, who your husband had by another woman?" he demanded. However, this did nothing to affect the blond and she merely gave him a sad smile.

"They are innocent. We cannot just turn them away. Besides, what kind of wife refuses to care for her husband's children?" she replied before leaning over and tenderly kissing Loki. He was swiftly reminded of why he loved her so much and gently pulled her into his arms. "It is late. Let us go and sleep and forget our troubles till morning." she said after a long moment and the prince agreed.

* * *

The next morning was uncomfortable for everyone. As Vali and Narfi sat at the table in the dining hall, they stared at Fenrir, Hela, and Jörmungandr as if their territory had been encroached upon. Sigyn told them that staring was rude, but they couldn't stop themselves.

"Mother, who are they?" Vali asked with a frown. The three said nothing and glanced over at blond woman expectantly.

"They are your siblings. They will be staying with us from now on." she explained as she gestured for said boys and girl to help themselves to breakfast. They had never seen so much food in one place in their lives and the idea that they could have as much as they wanted was new to them, so at first, they were hesitant, but then gave in to their hunger and took some of everything.

"But you are not their mother."

"They are still your siblings. I intend to give them just as much love as I have given you and you brother." Sigyn explained patiently. She had been afraid that Vali and Narfi would not take kindly to such an abrupt change to their lives and it seemed to be happening.

"That is not fair." Vali pouted, poking a piece of potato on his plate with his fork.

"Do not talk that way to your mother, Vali. If you have finished eating, go to your room." Loki snapped, looking up from his own meal with a stern expression. Without another word, the boy hopped down from his seat and went off looking sullen. Sigyn gave her husband a glance that said 'you didn't have to be so sharp', but he ignored her.

"I am Narfi. What are your names?" they suddenly heard a small boyish voice say. Loki and Sigyn stared at the child in astonishment at this. They rarely heard the boy speak and when he did, it was only to his parents or his brother. However, this time he was addressing the other children at the table. They seemed just as surprised as the adults, but none the less answered.

"I am Hela." the girl said. She had a smooth, relaxed sort of voice that sounded slightly strange coming from a child.

"Fenrir."

"Jörmungandr."

"Want to play after breakfast?" the blue eyed little one asked before forking a piece of fruit into his mouth. The triplets looked at each other excitedly for a moment before replying.

"Yes!" they said in unison. All Loki and Sigyn could do was gaze at the children in surprise. Who knew Narfi could be so accepting and friendly? It was clear that he had inherited Sigyn's kind and compassionate nature and just hadn't chosen to show it until now. His parents watched as he cleared his plate and waited patiently for the others to do the same before toddling off with them to the common room. It was a little strange seeing a four year old leading three ten year olds.

"Well then..." Loki said after a while. "He is much like you." This caused the blond woman to blush brightly and he reached over and rubbed her shoulder. "I am glad Narfi is connecting with them." He was going to have to have a talk with Vali, however. It was hard for the boy to accept no longer being the eldest child in the house, especially since the new siblings did not have the same mother as him.

"You should speak with Vali." Sigyn told her husband, giving him a coy little smile and placing a kiss on his temple. Loki nodded and went off to Vali and Narfi's room where he found the elder son sitting quietly on his bed, curled up reading a book that was almost as big as him.

"Son?" Loki said as he entered the room. The boy ignored him and continued reading, confirming that he was upset. The man knew he was listening despite all appearances, so he went and sat next to Vali before speaking again. "I know you do not much like the idea that the triplets do not have the same mother as you. I know you think that makes them outsiders and inferior, but they are still family. The same royal blood that flows in you flows in them as well." he told the child softly. When he got no reply, he went on. "You should be appreciative of the fact that your mother is so willing to take in children that are not her own and be proud to have such a loving, caring parent. There are many boys and girls who are not as fortunate."

"They are strange. I do not trust them." Vali suddenly said without looking up from his tome. Loki let out a frustrated sigh at this. The boy could be so stubborn at times.

"You should not judge what you do not understand. Hela, Fenrir, and Jörmungandr had a hard life before they came here. They deserve a little kindness." the prince replied sternly. He surprised to see when Vali finally looked up from his book that his green eyes were watering with the onset of tears. The boy suddenly hugged his father and sniffled.

"I am sorry, father. I am just scared."

"Of what?"

"That mother will forget about me."

"Vali, that is absolutely ridiculous." Loki assured his son, putting a comforting arm around him. The child buried his face in the man's chest and let his tears flow.

"What if they do not like me?" This was an understandable fear to Loki. When he had been small, he had struggled with worry over how he appeared to others as well.

"Even if you were a little brash with them earlier, I do not think they will be able to hold it against you for very long. Like I said, you are family." This seemed to be of great comfort to Vali and he rubbed the moisture from his eyes after releasing his hold on his father. "Narfi seems to be getting along with them quite well. They are playing in the common room. You can join them if you like. Knowing your little brother, he probably has them questing for a mystical artifact amongst the cushions." Almost immediately, this brightened Vali's spirits and he quickly rubbed his eyes one last time before hurrying off to adventure with his siblings. It amazed Loki how easily children learned to cope with change if one convinced them it was fun. Oh, how he wished the rest of life was that simple.

**A/N: ...and there you have it. I had a lot of ideas for this, but I don't feel like I presented them very smoothly. I haven't quite ironed out what I want the relationship between Vali and Narfi and Hela, Fenrir, and Jörmungandr to be like yet, but I'm getting there. If you've got any suggestions, by all means, share them. Thank you for everything. I'll try to update soon, but I have to get rid of this writer's block first. ~T.Z.**


	3. Trust

**A/N: Congratulations! It seems that your wonderful reviews caused wild plot bunnies to appear in my brain. They used 'kill writer's block'. It was super effective. (pardon my stupid Pokémon reference, I'm a little crazy right now) Anyway, thank you for giving me the inspiration to write this in less than a day. Sorry to say there is less Loki/Sigyn, more Vali being an angry little boy in this story, but it was the only idea I had, so I went with it. I hope you like it. Please R&R.**

**WARNING: This story contains children arguing, children swearing, and a poorly written ending.**

Trust

Loki Odinson, being a prince and a sorcerer, did not always have the time to look after his five children and with his wife newly made ambassador to Alfheim, she was often unable to watch over them as well. Fortunately, the three eldest of them could for the most part take care of themselves and so were put in charge of making sure their half-brothers didn't get into trouble. Honestly, it wasn't the best plan, considering there was still much stigma between the older and younger siblings, but Loki and Sigyn wanted the children to learn to be less dependent on adults and bond with each other, even if that meant taking the risk that something might happen to them while they weren't being watched over.

On one such occasion in which neither parent was around, the five wandered about the grounds of the royal palace. Passersby gave them small bows, which was novel to Fenrir, Hela, and Jörmungandr, considering they had never been treated like the children of a prince before. They liked it, but had no idea how hard their father had fought for it. The Aesir court did not receive their existence very well. In fact, neither did the Vanir court as they accused the man of being unfaithful to Sigyn, but it was groundless and just a petty excuse to voice their hatred of Loki. None the less, Odin allowed the three to remain with their father and decreed that they be treated like royalty just as the prince's legitimate sons were. Vali and Narfi remained silent on the matter, though Vali still found it difficult to trust them (Narfi was too kind and naïve not to). However, he did not complain about the triplets being in charge when their parents weren't around (this was mostly because, of them, he knew the palace best and so got to lead them around anyway).

"Lets go play hide and seek by the Valkyrie Fountain." Vali suggested to his siblings as they walked along the golden wall that surrounded the palace grounds. Hela grinned at this and agreed, but the others fervently shook their heads.

"We did that yesterday and besides, Hela always wins, so what is the point." Jörmungandr pointed out. At this, Vali shrugged and tried to think of something else they could do, when suddenly an idea struck him and he grinned up at the wall.

"We could go see what is outside."

"I agree!" Fenrir and Jörmungandr said in unison excitedly. Like Vali, they were eager to see more of Asgard. However, Hela and Narfi were hesitant. The girl could tell what the youngest of them wanted to say and so spoke up for him, knowing he was too soft spoken to do it himself.

"Brothers, I do not think father would approve. He told us we should not leave without him." she warned, earning her scowls from the others.

"Hush, Hela. Where is your sense of adventure?" Fenrir teased, his yellow-green eyes sparkling with childish excitement. Hela frowned at him, but he ignored her and turned back to the other boys. "The guards will not let us through the gate, so how will we get to the other side?"

"That is quite simple. We will just climb over the wall." Vali stated with a smirk. The others all raised their identical dark eyebrows at him and compelled him to elaborate. "Though through what method, I am unsure." At this, Hela laughed mockingly and shook her head.

"Sister, do you still remember that spider climbing spell mother taught you?" Jörmungandr asked after a long moment of looking pensive. The girl laughed again and shook her head.

"Oh, no, no, no. You are not going to rope me into this. I refuse to assist you in your death wish." At her last statement, she got confused looks, so she continued. "I will laugh uncontrollably at the sight of your cold bodies being carried out of father's study after he kills you for not listening."

"Odin's Beard! Lighten up, Hela! Father is not going to kill us. Besides, we do not have to tell him where we have been." Vali replied and the older boys swiftly agreed with him. The pale girl rolled her pearly eyes and sighed heavily.

"Very well. Give me your hands." The boys then proceed to place their hand on top of their sister's, well, all except Narfi. He looked at them anxiously, his blue-gray eyes filled with apprehension as they encouraged him to join them. Only after they told him he would be left alone if he didn't did he comply. Then Hela uttered a few words and silvery strands of magic curled around their fingers before sinking into their skin. "Now hurry. The spell will only last for ten minutes." she cautioned them and without further discussion, all five of them began to climb the enormous wall. When they got to the top, they paused for a moment to take in the scenery before them: a vast expanse of beautiful city. Then they began to climb down the other side. Vali was still only halfway down when the spell wore off and he let out a cry of panic as he fell. Fortunately, Jörmungandr reacted quickly enough to transform into an enormous snake and catch him.

"Are you alright, brother? You should try to be a little quicker in your climbing next time." Sadly, Vali did not take this as gratefully as he could have and pushed himself away from Jörmungandr when he returned to his normal form.

"I am fine. And do not call me that. I am not your brother." he snapped, blowing a lock of his long, black hair out of his eyes. The triplets frowned at him and he wrapped his arm around Narfi's shoulders.

"What are you talking about? Of course I am your brother."

"No, you are not. I do not know what magic you three use, but it is not father's magic and I doubt the mother you were referring to was mine because that was not her magic either." Vali turned away from them and began walking away, pulling Narfi with him.

"Oh, so that is how it is, then? Well, good luck. You will never make it back here on your own." Fenrir shot back.

"Narfi and I do not need to follow you around like a pair of lost little puppies. We can manage yourselves fine." Without another word, the two went off into the streets of Asgard alone. Many people gave them strange looks and some did double takes before giving them curt bows, but Vali paid little attention to this because he was too busy staring with curiosity at everything he saw. Narfi walked with him looking more nervous than ever and noticed all too readily the way people were looking at them. It scared him.

"Well, if it isn't Vali and Narfi Lokison. What are you two doing outside the palace walls?" a boy a little older than Vali said as a group of commoner children approached them in a small, otherwise empty street. "I thought Prince Loki's kids couldn't come out into the streets." The two dark haired boys ignored this and Vali whispered to Narfi to keep walking like nothing had happened. However, the commoner children were not about to leave them alone. "Look at them, ignoring us like we're not worth their time. Typical."

"What do you want with us?" Vali demanded, suddenly turning around, piercing emerald eyes narrowing at the boy speaking to them. The boy smirked and broke apart from his two friends to come closer.

"We wanna know why you've left your fancy little shelter. If you know what's good for you, you'll go home to your mother."

"We do not have to say anything to likes of you." With an air of superiority, the eight year old turned back around and started to walk off and Narfi quickly followed after giving the stranger children an apologetic glance.

"See? Look at them, running away. Cowards, both of them, just like Prince Loki." the commoner boy sneered to his friends. This hit a raw nerve with Vali and snapped back around, glaring him with an expression of pure loathing.

"Do not slander my father's name." the green eyed boy hissed, his fists clenching tightly. Narfi muttered to him to be careful and not pick a fight and they should probably be getting back to the wall now. They were outnumbered and the younger of the two brothers wasn't even any good at fighting. He was too nice to throw a punch and it didn't help that his opponents would be twice his age (being only six).

"What are you gonna do about it, coward? I was only speaking the truth. Everyone knows Prince Loki has no honor. He tells lies and tricks people to get what he wants." This was the last straw for Vali. Taking a step closer, he replied.

"Your mouth seems to be moving and making sound. Let me fix that for you." With this, he socked the other boy squarely in the jaw as hard as he could. While the blond was bent over, clutching his face, his two friends grabbed hold of Vali's arms and restrained him as he struggled to get in another swing. The boy wiped his mouth and looked at the blood on the back of his hand with a frown before looking back up at Vali and laughed.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little shit." he said through gritted teeth and punched the dark haired boy hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He was still struggling for breath when he received another blow, this time to the face and he could feel warm blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He took hit after hit with no time to say anything between gasps of pain and he was too frail in comparison to the others to be able to break free and fight back. Narfi seemed to be nowhere in sight and Vali could only hope he had gotten away and was finding help.

About five minutes later, after Vali had his arm broken, did anyone come to his aid. From the corner of his eye, he could see Fenrir and Jörmungandr, both looking livid.

"Wow, that is pathetic, beating up a kid who is smaller than you." Fenrir barked, finally attracting the commoners' attention.

"Well, if it isn't Loki's bastard sons. Come to get the smugness beaten out of you too?"

"Shall we break them?" Jörmungandr asked his triplet brother.

"How about just slightly maim? I do not want to get blood on my furs." Fenrir responded with a grin that revealed his unusually long canine teeth.

"Well, they did hurt our little brother, so I do not want to go easy on them, but I see your point. Slightly maim it is." Gasps of shock and horror escaped the commoner children's mouthes as Fenrir and Jörmungandr transformed themselves into a large wolf and snake. It took only a loud growl and hiss to make them let go of Vali and scramble away down the otherwise empty street. Vali fell to his hands and knees briefly before keeling over onto his side with a groan of pain. Suddenly, out of the shadows came Hela and Narfi and they rushed to Vali's side. They could see his face was covered in blood and his arm was twisted at a weird angle. Without even thinking, Narfi ripped a piece of green cloth from his sleeve and started wiping his brother's face. As he did so, tiny slivers of blue light radiated from the fabric and when he was done, Vali's face seemed as good as new except for his tired and pain stricken expression.

"Narfi, how did you do that?" Hela asked in amazement.

"I-I do not know...it just...happened." the six year old sputtered. Hela was prevented from questioning him further by Fenrir's sudden presence at Vali's side.

"Hurry! Get him onto my back! We must not be found here." he urged in a soft growl, nudging Vali's head with his muzzle. Silently, Hela and Jörmungandr heaved the boy onto the wolf's back. "You too, Narfi." He gestured for the youngest among them to get on his back as well. With both of Sigyn's sons holding tightly to Fenrir's gray fur, they sped off to the golden wall of the palace. Hela cast her spell again and they scaled the wall easily. Once they were safely on the other side, they slowed down and snuck home, taking a back route through the gardens. Almost as soon as they were through the door of the tower, Lady Sigyn rushed up to them.

"I came back for the council meeting an hour ago and no one knew where you- Odin's Beard!" the woman stopped abruptly to exclaim as she caught sight of Vali, who looked bruised and beaten and his arm was still twisted at a weird angle. He was staring off into space like he was completely out of it from so much pain. "What happened?" she demanded of the others as she took her son into her arms and carried him to a nearby couch. As she examined him, Hela explained.

"We left the palace. Vali and Narfi went off alone. They ran into some mean children and they beat up Vali, but Fenrir and Jörmungandr scared them away." She paused and winced at Vali's cry of pain when Sigyn straightened his arm. "We came back as soon as we could."

"You should never have gone in the first place." the mother scolded, casting the other children a stern look. "You are lucky to be alive." she told them all, employing Loki's method of lesson teaching.

"I am sorry, mother." Vali wheezed, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. He looked like he want to cry, but they all knew he wasn't going to in front of them.

"Hush, my child. It is alright. I have healed your wounds. We can talk about this later when your father comes home. Now you just need to go rest." Sigyn soothed, helping the boy sit up.

"Oh, please do not tell him!" Fenrir begged as he turned back to normal.

"No, there are no secrets in a family."

"But he will kill us!" he whined, eyes wide.

"No, he will not. Now go to your rooms." Understanding that this was final, the children went off to their rooms without further argument.

* * *

Upon seeing Loki return, Sigyn embraced him tightly and he kissed her when she asked him how his day had been. For a moment, he was smiling, but then he read into his wife's body language and frowned; it was in the way she held onto him, the slightly fast pace of her breathing barely audible. Something had happened. He could feel it.

"Tell me." he said in the most serious of tones. Sigyn then proceeded to divulge everything that the children had told her or that she had been able to deduce about what had happened with Vali. The more she told him, the further her husband's brow furrowed until finally he called forth a servant girl and asked her to send for his children.

"All of them, my lord?"

"All of them."

"Yes, my lord." Within ten minutes, all five of them were assembled in the common room, looking guiltily down at their feet.

"You are aware that I forbade you to leave without me accompanying you and now you have seen why. You are not yet old enough to handle the situations you would be forced to deal with outside these walls." Loki began. "Fortunately, none of you lost your lives, though you very well could have since such is a very real possibility when you engage in a fight." None of them said anything to this and simply continued to stare at the ground. "Vali, even common folk do not fight for no reason at all. Tell me what happened."

"They were sullying your name, father. It was a slight to not only your honor, but my own as well. I could not just let them get away with it." the boy explained softly, head still hung.

"Look at me, Vali." At this, he quickly looked up at Loki and their identical green eyes met. "Never let anyone provoke you into displaying your anger in such a vulgar and brutish way. Do not stoop to that level. If you wish to retaliate, use a different means. You were born with a brain and a tongue. You are capable of speech. Use the wit in your words to fight your battles, not the blade of a sword, for often the former is much sharper."

"I understand."

"Good. That will take you far." The prince gently patted his son's head to let him know that he was not angry with him. "That goes for all of you. I hope you have learned from what happened today and never make the same mistake twice."

"Yes, father." they each said. Loki grinned and nodded to them.

"Hurry now and prepare yourselves for dinner." At this, they scampered off looking significantly less sullen. Sigyn came to stand next to the prince as their children left the room, smiling.

"I think you handled that rather well. You shared some excellent pieces of wisdom." she commented. He wrapped his arm around her waist and laughed. "You know, earlier, they were afraid that you were going to kill them."

"They do not realize that I was once very much like them. They are lucky not to have to learn such wisdom the hard way as I did." Inside, he was eternally grateful to the Fates that his son, or indeed any of his beloved children, had not been taken from him this day.

* * *

At the dinner table, Vali came to sit between Narfi and Fenrir, much to Fenrir's surprise and the elder boy gave him a quizzical look.

"I am sorry for what I said...brother. I should have been more trusting." Vali confessed and Fenrir instantly understood what this was about. "Thank you...for saving me."

"Think nothing of it. Besides, if it is any consolation, Lady Sigyn is a much better mother than my real one." This made the younger boy smile and for the rest of the meal, Vali and Fenrir talked excitedly to each other and came to be not only close brothers, but also good friends.

**A/N: So yeah...I'm hoping to feature Thor in the next story and I have a few ideas as to how to do that. I want it to be funny because this story was sort of depressingly serious. As always, if you have any suggestions/prompts for me, please do share them. All reviews I receive are put toward the "T.Z.'s Confidence Fund", which works to make better stories, faster. C****ontributions are tax deductible. **All stories are made possible by reviewers like you. Thank you. ~T.Z.


	4. Cosmic Fieldtrip or Your Father's Son

**A/N: I apologize for not updating in a while. I received some devastating news the other day and so I've been trying to recover from the depression that put me in. Thank you as always for the lovely reviews. They mean a lot to me and motivate me to write. I love you all. Please R&R.**

Cosmic Fieldtrip _or_ Your Father's Son

After the little incident in which Loki's children ventured beyond the royal palace's boundaries, their parents took it upon themselves to make sure that there was always a trustworthy adult nearby to watch the children when they couldn't. It usually ended up being Frigga, Baldr and Nanna, or Freyr, but sometimes they would fall into the hands of Sif or Thor despite Loki's concerns. There was one such occasion in which Thor volunteered to watch over all five of them and of course, Thor being Thor, the Thunderer was not content to just watch them sit and read. He wanted to be the fun uncle and the best chances he got to do that was when his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"My dear nephews and niece, when was it last that you went on an adventure?" the blond asked. Vali looked back at his uncle nervously before replying quietly.

"Father told us not to talk about our last adventure." At this, Thor frowned and stood up from his previously relaxed position in a large chair, coming closer to the five. He bent down so that their eyes were level with his and rested his palms on his knees.

"Ah, yes, well, would you like to see the forests of Nornheim? You would be with me, so you need not concern yourselves with any worries for your safety." the man suggested. At his words, Vali and Fenrir seemed to grow very excited. However, Jörmungandr and Narfi were not as enthusiastic and Hela burst out laughing. It was a light, reverberatory mirth that was admittedly a little disturbing.

"Unless you jest, uncle, I would advise you and the others to tell me what you would like carved on your graves so that I may fulfill your wishes." she giggled, earning her stares from everyone but her triplet brothers. Thor recovered quickly and smiled.

"Hela, no one will die so long as I am with you. I am the Mighty Thor, after all." The girl only raised her raven eyebrows at this, trying not to voice her doubt in her uncle's abilities. None of this at all dissuaded Vali and Fenrir from their excitement.

"We would like to see Nornheim, uncle!" Fenrir said with a grin that revealed his extra long, extra sharp canine teeth. Thor gave a jovial laugh and put his hands on the boys' shoulders.

"Then I shall take you there! We will find a giant boar and I will show you how to slay it." the man responded, serving to excite his nephews further. However, when he looked over at the other children, he saw that Narfi had curled up in the corner of the couch and engrossed himself deeper in the enormous tome he was reading; Jörmungandr was in the form of a small snake, twisted around Narfi's wrist, reading the book with him, and Hela was looking over at her uncle with an expression of amused skepticism. "If none other of you wish to join us, then I would ask that you remain as you are while we are gone."

"Of course, dear uncle." With that, Fenrir and Vali went to their rooms to fetch their cloaks and the younger of the two spent ten minutes trying to decide which among his growing collection of ornate daggers to take with him. Meeting Thor at the doors of the tower, the boys followed him off to the Bifrost eagerly. As they arrived at the Observatory, Heimdall gazed at them with his golden eyes narrowed. For a long while, the Gatekeeper said nothing and didn't move to open the Bifrost. Only when Thor spoke did he respond.

"We would like passage to Nornheim."

"Your brother would not approve of this. I would rather not incur his wrath should anything happen." Heimdall said, his voice sounding like softly rolling thunder. This did not cause Thor to be hesitant at all as he laughed.

"Do not be concerned, good Heimdall. He will never have to know we have gone."

"Very well, but he will return from Vanaheim in a few hours. If you have not returned yourselves by that time and he comes to me with questions, I will not lie." With this, the tall, golden clad man opened the Bifrost and Fenrir and Vali looked at each other in pure excitement before being sucked into the vortex after their uncle. The children stumbled and rolled as they landed and Thor laughed.

"On your feet, dear nephews. A warrior must always on his feet and alert."

"Yes, Uncle Thor." the boys said together as they got up. They were in awe at what they saw before them: a thick, dark forest of trees that blotted out almost all light from the sky. Vali could feel his strong sense of curiosity awakening inside him and even without Thor's prompt, he began to walk off. Fenrir quickly followed him and their uncle came to walk behind them closely, protectively. The Thunderer grinned at his nephews' eagerness and spotted the emerald dagger in Vali's belt.

"I see you favor a small blade." the man commented. "You are very much like your father."

"Thank you." Vali replied with a bright smile. "I like daggers. They have so many...possibilities." The boy struggled for a moment to find the right word to describe his feelings, but being the highly intelligent child that he was, it didn't take long before he landed on one. He had always been able to surprise people with his intelligence and he didn't like it when others treated him like a little kid. Narfi was the same way, although he was far too shy and polite to voice his feelings.

"They suit you well, little one. Sif tells me you have quite a collection of them."

"Well, I only have ten right now. Aunt Sif gave me two of them."

"That was very kind of her."

"Verily."

"And what of you, Fenrir? I see no blades with you." Thor suddenly turned his attention to the older brother, ruffling his already unruly hair.

"I have no need of fabricated weapons. Mine are part of my body." At this, the blond was reminded that Fenrir was able to transform into a wolf at will. It was strange, but Thor had never had the nerve to ask his brother questions about the triplets' abilities. Talking about their origins was always a taboo and if it was brought up, Loki would become very snippy.

"I see." Thor said simply after a moment. Fenrir smiled and they continued walking through the dark forest. After a long while, the wolf boy perked up and stopped. "Do you hear something?" his uncle asked. He nodded before he and Vali began to climb the nearest tree. This confused Thor for a moment, but then he realized the ground was shaking at intervals like steps. A mere moment later, an enormous, red eyed bear emerged from the foliage and the man raised his eyebrows. He had faced much worse many times before, but that did not stop him from being mildly surprised. Upon seeing the Asgardian, the bear roared ferociously and reared back to strike. Just as Thor was raising his hammer to counter it, his nephews dropped out the tree and onto the beast's head, shouting in battle cries made comical by the fact that they both had such childish voices. However, it was not a laughing matter when the bear easily threw them off with one shake of its mighty head and while Fenrir was able to transform into a wolf and make a safe tumble to the ground, Vali was thrown against a nearby tree and let out a loud wheeze as the wind was knocked out of him before falling limply to the ground.

Now greatly annoyed at the threat and worried for Vali, Thor lifted Mjölnir above his head and in one heavy swing, had the bear on its side, dead. The blond then rushed to his nephew's side and turned the boy over to see there were scrapes on his arms and he was struggling to breath with his eyes tightly closed.

"Vali?" Thor said and a moment later, the boy's breathing returned and he opened his eyes, blowing a long lock of black hair out of his face as an attempt to appear unaffected.

"I am sorry. I am alright. Really." he spoke speedily in a slightly strained voice, making it obvious that he was not alright.

"Perhaps we should return home." At Thor's words, Vali shook his head fervently.

"No, no. Really. I am f-fine." the dark haired boy insisted as he sat up shakily before looking around frantically. "Where is my dagger?" The thought of losing even one of his beloved blades was devastating to him and he began to panic. Fortunately, this was short lived as he found his dagger embedded in the dead bear's back. "Did...d-did I-?" he began to ask, looking to Thor, but the man shook his head.

"I slayed it, though you helped to distract it." Thor explained as he removed the dagger from the beast and handed it to Vali. The boy took it and tucked it in his belt before slowly attempting to get to his feet. His knees wobbled noticeably and Thor continued to look at him with a worried expression, but he made it to his feet and gave the man a small smile.

"Let us continue."

"Are you sure? You are limping." From the way the boy's hands shook and his uneven gait, Thor could tell that something was internally wrong with Vali. However, the boy just shook his head and put his hand on Fenrir's shoulder for support.

"It is nothing. Please, I want to see more of Nornheim." he insisted. Thor admired his persistence, but he knew he had to get the boy home and make sure he saw a healer. They probably did not have much time before Loki would return to Asgard either and if he found the boy injured, there would be hell to pay.

"No, Vali, you are obviously hurt. We need to go back and find a clearing so that Heimdall can take us home." At this, Vali's face fell, but he nodded. Fenrir transformed and the younger brother climbed onto his back as they began to follow their uncle back the way they had come. However, they had not gone far before they sensed danger again and looking around, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by Norn guards.

"What are you doing here?" one of them demanded, eyeing the three with great suspicion. At that moment, Thor truly wished that Loki was with him because his brother always seemed to know what to say, especially in delicate situations such as this.

"I was merely showing my nephews your beautiful realm." the Thunderer answered after a long moment of thinking about what Loki would say.

"No, you are trespassing. We saw the bear you slew." Thor had nothing to say to that. He could come up with no clever explanation to appease these warriors.

"We are going home now. You need not worry about us trespassing any further."

"We are sorry if we did something wrong." Vali suddenly piped up, seeing that his uncle was in need of a little help. The guards eyed the boy wearily and after a moment, they seemed to recognize who he was.

"You have brought the sons of Loki to our sacred realm without permission. That is not an easily forgivable offense." With this, Thor could now see where this was going. These warriors wanted to fight him. As far as he could see, there weren't that many of them and so he tighten his grip on Mjölnir and glared at them.

"We just want to go home."

"I think not." A moment later, more guards appeared out of the brush and Vali's emerald eyes widened as he realized they were facing at least a hundred warriors. Shakily, he put a hand on the hilt of his dagger and Fenrir growled. Suddenly, with a flash of green light, Loki appeared in front of them wearing a grimace and brandishing a spear of green magic. The three were very lucky the prince had been skrying to check up on his children.

"Keep your hands off of my sons." he snarled and the first Norn swung his sword at him. The dark haired man blocked the attack with ease and plunged his spear through the warrior's chest as Thor began sweeping aside multiple attackers at once with his hammer. There was a hidden look of surprise and nervousness in the Thunderer's blue eyes as he fought, reacting to the situation purely on instinct. Vali clung tightly to his brother's gray fur with one hand and with the other, he drew his dagger, using it to parry a slash from a Norn's sword. However, he had not been prepared for a second, quicker attack and raised his arms in a defensive cross position, closing his eyes in anticipation for the blow...but it didn't come. When the boy opened his eyes, he saw that the warrior's blade had been halted by an invisible force. Without even thinking, he made a pushing motion and a wave of green energy burst from his arms, sending his attacker flying through the air. Loki glanced back at him in time to see this. The man looked surprised at first, but then a small smile graced his lips.

"Brother, get us out of here." Thor suddenly commanded as he hit an enemy square in the chest before summoning a blast of lightning that knocked the surrounding Norns back. Loki nodded at this and with sweeping motion of his flowing green cape, they were veiled in smoke. Grabbing Thor's collar and Vali's hand, he teleported them all home.

As soon as they were safely inside the palace, Fenrir transformed back to normal and let Vali hold onto his shoulder for support again. Their father only had to give them a look to tell them they needed to get to the healers. Once they were gone, Loki turned to his brother wearing an expression of pure indignation.

"What were you thinking! I trusted you to keep them safe while I was away and you took them to _Nornheim_!" he snapped, green eyes glaring into Thor's very soul.

"I just wanted to take them on a little adventure. I never wanted or expected them to be harmed or put in danger. I swear to you." Thor assured his younger brother with utmost sincerity. Loki narrowed his eyes at the man, but despite obviously having a whole litany of scathing things he wanted to say, he kept it simple and buried most of his anger.

"No adventures until their older. Do not give me that look, brother. I am never leaving you alone with Fenrir or Vali again. Their insatiable curiosity gets them in trouble even more when you are around them." The dark hair man did his best to stop himself from yelling at Thor for nearly getting his precious sons killed, reminding himself that the blond had just been trying to be a good uncle and meant no harm to them. At least Hela, Narfi, and Jörmungandr were sensible enough to realize how dangerous adventuring with Uncle Thor could be.

"They get that curiosity from you, brother." the other man commented with a grin. At this, Loki quirked a raven eyebrow at him and smirked sarcastically.

"Are you saying this is my fault?"

"Maybe."

"You are never willing to accept responsibility, are you?"

"Nope." At this point, all seriousness had been lost from the conversation and both men burst into laughter. Eventually, their mirth died down and there was a long moment of silence before Loki spoke.

"I am still not letting you off the hook." the trickster said with a grin before walking away, leaving it to Thor to decide what exactly that meant. From what the elder brother knew, it probably meant revenge of some sort was in order in addition to not being allowed to look after his nephews and niece for a while. That revenge would come in the form of a herd of cattle enchanted to smell ten times worse than normal suddenly appearing in his chambers a month later. Admittedly, Thor felt as if he had gotten a much better deal than expected. Later, he found out that it was because Sigyn had persuaded her husband not to do anything outright malicious.

* * *

Vali sat quietly on the couch in the common room, still recovering from a broken rib. He was reading a large book intently, a small smile in his expression as he learned of Midgard and the ways of its people. It helped him forget the horror of the short, yet brutal battle he'd witnessed only a few days before. Loki observed his son from the entryway for a while before coming to sit with the boy.

"Vali?" he said, getting his attention only after he finished the page he was on.

"Yes, father?" There was now a slight frown on Vali's face, as if he was afraid that he had somehow gotten into trouble without realizing it. Loki gave him a reassuring smile in response.

"Remember what I told you some time ago when you asked me to teach you magic?" the man began, his tone soft and relaxed. The boy's eyes brightened at the question and the memory ran through his mind...

_ "Father, will you teach me magic?" Vali asked, climbing onto Loki's lap as he sat at his desk in the study. The dark haired man was surprised by the suddenness of the request, but didn't take long to formulate a reply._

_ "I can teach you all the spells and rune songs I know, but they will mean nothing to you if you cannot breath life into them." he explained. At the frown this earned him from Vali, he elaborated. "You cannot become a sorcerer until the gift of magic presents itself in you."_

_ "How will I know when it has?"_

_ "It will come to you in a moment of dire need, perhaps to save your life or to fix something that has been broken."_

_ "What if I just really want it to come?" Loki raised his eyebrows in amusement at this question and with a twist of his wrist, a small ball of green light appeared in his hand. He held it in front of Vali and let the boy gaze at it in amazement for a moment before snuffing it out by closing his hand. "Now you try." Vali moved his wrist just as his father had and nothing happened. He tried and tried and tried, but nothing happened at all. "No matter how much you might wish it, magic will not answer your call until it awakes in your blood." With this, the prince lifted Vali so that he could get up from his seat and left the boy in the study to spend hours attempting to imitate his father's spell..._

"Yes, I remember it well." Vali answered, wondering if his father had seen the little miracle of defensive power he'd performed in Nornheim.

"Magic has shown itself in you. Should you wish it, you can now walk the path of a sorcerer." Loki locked his emerald gaze with his son's as he said this and the dark haired boy's eyes widened when he comprehended what he had just been told. "You would be my apprentice." Admittedly, the hug Vali proceeded to give him was unexpected, but not unwelcome. "Easy, son. You still have a few days left on that cracked rib." he cautioned, gingerly returning Vali's embrace. The boy didn't seem to care, since he only hugged Loki harder.

"Father, how did you find out you could do magic?"

"There was a time when I was your age when I greatly wished to have the power to become invisible. One day I noticed that my wish had come true." This was only a half-truth. It had indeed been the first time he had become invisible, but it was not the first magic he'd used. Loki knew Vali was too naïve to understand the truth yet, to understand why his first spell had been a malicious one aimed at his own brother. The prince did his best to push back these dark thoughts and focused on the joy of knowing that his son was going to be a sorcerer like him and be able to defend himself with more than just his daggers. With a grin, Loki took a spellbook from his coat and handed it to Vali. He accepted the tome eagerly and read the title aloud.

"'The Apprentice's Guide to Rune Carving'." As Vali opened the book, Loki could barely contain his feelings of pride and relief that the boy had chosen this over Thor's warrior example.

**A/N: I hope you liked this. I wanted it to be a lot funnier than it is, but I guess I just didn't have it in me. Anyway, the next chapter is going to be pretty dark in theme. It'll have a lot to do with Loki's crimes, although there is going to be a lot of Loki/Sigyn to make it a little more bearable. Don't worry, no one is going to die. Anyway, please review. Reviews inspire me and make me smile.**


	5. A Cruel Truth

**A/N: Hurray for updating soon! Thanks for the reviews, as always! I appreciate your well wishes and I'm feeling a lot better. Avengers in less than a week! Woot! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains depictions that could be considered a tad unsettling (only in the beginning) and Sif being a bitch.**

A Cruel Truth

Lady Sigyn's heart raced as she heard the screams of anguish and she pushed through the crowd, hoping against all hope that the pain she was hearing was not coming from who she thought it was. Sure enough, when she finally made it through the crowd, her worst fears were confirmed. Loki lay pinned to the ground by Thor as a dwarf took a needle and thread to his lips. His screaming died away as his mouth was sewn shut, but his hands moved sporadically, conveying his pain. Sigyn let out a cry of heartbreak and when the dwarf's work was done, he and Thor stepped away to allow the woman to come to her husband's side. Loki lay unmoving, simply staring with wide, sad eyes as blood flowed from the puncture wounds down his chin, staining his collar.

"Now he will not be able to tell anymore lies." the dwarf said with a grimace. Sigyn took Loki in her arms and held the side of his head in the crook of her neck as she glared at the men who had done this to her beloved.

"Father?" Practically every head turned to see all five of Loki's children standing there, looking shocked and horrified by the sight before them. Narfi, the one who had spoken, made to approach his parents, but Jörmungandr held him back. Many members of the crowd now wore looks of guilt, but others just continued their cruel laughter, saying loudly that it served Loki right. Hot tears began to roll down Sigyn's face and anger roiled up inside her.

"What kind of justice is this? What makes any of you think it is right to publicly torture a man for his own children to see?" she shrieked. Her words were greeted with a dead silence and without saying anything further, she beckoned for the five to help her get Loki home. As they left, the blond gave Thor a special glare to let him know that she placed a great deal of the blame on him. There was a sincere look of guilt in the Thunderer's expression, but Sigyn did not see it. She had already turned her back on the crowd and walked away with her family.

When they got home, she told the children not to disturb her as she guided Loki to the washroom and shut the door. As soon as they were alone, she took a cloth and wet it in the sink before reaching up to wipe the blood off her husband's face. All the while, he looked at her with an apologetic sadness hinted with frustration at not being able to speak. It made Sigyn want to cry, but she remained calm and composed.

Once Loki's face was clean of blood, Sigyn set aside the cloth and reached up to touch the dark threads, but the man roughly grabbed her wrist before she could. Confused, the blond looked into her husband's eyes to see if she could understand why he would not allow her to remove the threads. Then the answer hit her. It wasn't just that he didn't want to deal with the pain, but also that he wasn't allowed to have them removed. Seeing that she understood this, Loki let go of her wrist and turned away from her as if to say 'I don't want you to see me like this.' There was shame and anger in his eyes as he did this, but Sigyn would have none of it. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she tried to coax him into turning back around, but when he wouldn't, she simply walked around to face him. His head was hung and his eyes were closed until she ever so gently kissed his sewn lips. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he opened his green orbs wide.

"I do not care what justification they give for this. You are my husband. I will always love you. Never forget that." Sigyn told Loki, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. He let out a small sound of surprise before slowly returning the gesture, holding her as if his life depended on it.

* * *

That evening, all was silent in the common room. Loki sat in his chair, gazing blankly into the fireplace. Sigyn held a book in her hands, but she wasn't reading it. She was too busy worrying about her husband. Vali sat on the floor, quietly practicing turning a wood block into metal while Narfi watched. They knew better than to disturb their father when he stared into the fireplace. On the other side of the room, Fenrir and Jörmungandr played chess. The game provided a wonderful distraction from the day's events which they very much needed. Then there was Hela, who sat in her own chair in the darkest corner of the room. Her pearly eyes roamed, but always seemed to return to Loki.

"There is beauty in that which binds your lips, father." the girl suddenly piped up. Practically in unison, everyone's gaze turned to her.

"Hela..." Sigyn warned. For a moment, Loki appeared angry and confused, but then his eyes narrowed a demanding expression as if to say 'explain yourself, young lady'.

"It serves to remind them of the cruelty lurking in their hearts." she elaborated. There was no need for her to explain who 'they' were. It was obvious to anyone who had seen what had transpired in the palace courtyard that afternoon. At the dark haired girl's words, any anger Loki had felt melted away and was replaced with appreciation. The faintest hint of a smile appeared on the man's face as he gave her a nod. Sure, Hela was a little strange, even by his standards, but her unusual approach to life gave her a wisdom so few her age possessed.

After that, the mood in the room lightened considerably. Vali took his now metal cube and presented it to his father for inspection. The man held it in his hand, weighing it and feeling its texture for a moment before patting the boy on the head. Vali grinned and hugged Loki, though clearly for more than mastering a spell. He was comforting his father. It deeply moved the prince to know that he had such wonderful children and admittedly, he felt unworthy. From over Vali's shoulder, Loki could see Sigyn gazing at him with lovingness in her gray eyes and it made him forget about his pain for a while.

* * *

After that day, things changed for Loki's children. They had known that some people were not particularly fond of their father, but now it seemed that everyone openly spoke ill of him. As they walked around the palace, people would glare at them and whisper things. It was a frightening new world that they didn't understand. What had the prince done to be hated so much? That hatred sometimes spilled over onto the children and it hurt more than anything.

"Get away from me!" a noble snapped at Narfi as the ten year old bent down to help him pick up the books he'd dropped. Hurt and confused, the boy scrambled away without saying anything. It seemed that he was not safe from scorn even in the palace library, a place he had previously considered a sort of sanctuary.

"What is wrong?" Vali asked as his brother came to sit with him in the reading area, looking like he had been touched by a draugr. Narfi said nothing and simply stared off into space. Hela sat across from them, gazing at her little brother intently, trying to read into his body language. Of any of his siblings, she was the one who was most adept at understanding 'the boy who often speaks without words'. She had even surpassed Vali, who was his full brother and spent the most time with him of anyone. Some wondered whether she was just gifted at reading emotions or she knew some sort of sorcery that let her see into people's hearts.

"He received unkind words from a stranger." Hela said after Vali gave her an inquisitive glance. She reached over and placed her hand on Narfi's forearm as a show of comfort and sympathy. There were tears forming in the corners of his gray eyes, but his expression remained blank. Vali quickly became worried, knowing how his brother tended to take things to heart. "We should go home. We are not welcome here." Hela spoke again after seeing the glares they were getting from some nobles nearby. Vali nodded and they left the library quietly, Narfi walking between Vali and Hela, holding his siblings' hands. As they passed thought the courtyard, they spotted Fenrir and Jörmungandr playing with cousins Thrud, Ullr, and little Forseti, but the three did not even stop to say hello, knowing it was best if they got home as soon as possible.

As Hela closed the entrance door of the tower, the sound of women shouting reached their ears and they followed it until they came to the door of the common room. At this point, they could tell that it was Sigyn and Sif arguing. Vali cracked the door open just enough that they could see what was going on.

"You are too kind to that trickster, Sigyn!"

"He would not be a trickster if everyone showed him a little kindness!"

"No, it is simply in his nature! You seem to be stuck on this false idea that he is a troubled soul who just needs guidance!"

"He is not the monster you make him out to be!" At this, Sif let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

"Ugh! You have always been like this. Always defending him. Always seeing flowers in a hand that holds daggers." This sparked a look of pure indignation in Sigyn. She could not believe a woman she had called her friend was saying this to her.

"I love him!"

"And you are going to get hurt if you keep turning a blind eye to his crimes! Sigyn, my friend, I beg you, leave him! It is not just your own life you have to consider here! What about your sons? What kind of example is Loki setting for them? I love my nephews and do not wish to see them become just like their father!" This was met with dead silence from Sigyn. Her rage was too pure for words. Instead, it found its voice in the blue magic that began emanating like fire from the woman's eyes and hands. Sif clenched her hands into fists and there was along moment in which the women just glared at each other, each daring the other to make a hostile move.

"Get." The color of Sigyn's magic went from blue to teal. "OUT." to lime green with an echo of power in her voice. Without another word, Sif turned on her heel and made for the door. Hela, Narfi, and Vali scrambled out of the way as she opened it. When the warrior woman saw them and the terrified expressions on their faces, she gave them apologetic looks and patted Vali and Narfi on the head, ignoring Hela, before leaving. When Sif was gone, the three looked back into the common room to see Sigyn on her knees and her face in her hands. She was shaking with what they were sure to be silent sobs. Slowly, the three approached her and she wrapped her arms around Vali and Narfi as soon as they were within reach. Hela sat down across from her calmly, humming to her palms and when Sigyn looked at her, the girl was holding a vibrant red and gold flower, a symbol of cruelty and grief. It turned black and rapidly withered in her hands before she held it out to Sigyn.

"For you, mother." The blond took the dead flower and stared at Hela in astonishment.

"Did you just call me...?" Sigyn's voice trailed off.

"Call you what, mother?" At this, a sad smile graced the woman's lips and she tucked the withered flower in her hair.

"Nothing, little one. Thank you." she said, embracing Hela. She may not have given birth to the girl, but she was her daughter all the same and that made her happy.

* * *

The next morning, Lady Sigyn took the children with her to see the AllFather, hoping their presence would render him more forgiving when she argued her case for ending Loki's punishment.

"You are aware of the things my son has done?" Odin asked.

"I am."

"And you would forgive him?"

"What he needs is love, not punishment, my king. Of course I would forgive him." Sigyn replied. The bearded man looked down at her thoughtfully, occasionally glancing at his five grandchildren, all of whom were watching him carefully.

"Very well. You may remove the bindings from Loki's lips."

"Thank you, your highness." With a bow, Sigyn and the children exited the throne room, leaving Odin to wonder if he'd made the right choice.

Upon returning to Loki's tower, Sigyn found her beloved husband in his study. He looked up from his work when she entered and she smiled. He stood up and tilted his head to ask her how her appeal went. She approached him and held his face in her hands, still smiling, before nodding happily.

"Let me take the thread out." Making a pulling gesture with her hand, blue tendrils of magic gently unwound the thread. Loki shut his eyes tightly in an expression of pain, but opened them again when his mouth was free and the string was in Sigyn's hand. In a suddenly flash of flame, it was incinerated and the prince found himself smiling fully, despite the pain he was still in. Sigyn leaned in and kissed him, his puncture wounds healing at her touch.

"Thank you." Loki's voice was soft and hoarse from lack of use, but it did not fail to convey his gratitude. Overcome by a sudden longing, the prince kissed his wife back more forcefully and deeply than she had, relishing the feeling of something he had been denied for so long. "I am so sorry for bringing this upon this family." he said as he rested his forehead against Sigyn's.

"Do not worry about it." she replied, entwining her fingers with his. The emerged from the study looking joyful and when the children saw them, Loki without his mouth sewn up, they all beamed, even Narfi, who had been in a perpetual state of depression since the incident in the library.

"Father, will you teach us a rune song?" Jörmungandr asked as they followed him to the common room.

"Yes, I would love to, little one." They all grew excited just at hearing his voice again and they gathered around him as he sat himself on the floor. "Want sort of song do you have in mind?"

"Teach them the Healing Hearth." Sigyn suggested. It was a spell meant for a group of people and it took it's strength from the bonds between the people singing. As far as she was concerned, it was the perfect thing to teach them. Loki seemed to agree because he held out his hands as he spoke.

"Very well. Join hands." The children did as they were told, looking more excited than they had in a long while. "Hearken now, Sons of Flame/ Lend us your great warmth/ Heal us of our pain..." he sang softly, the strength in his voice returning with each line, and they echoed him after every verse. About halfway through the song, sparks began to spring up in the fireplace and by the end, a green fire crackled merrily away there, its light reaching every corner of the room. Everyone seemed to be filled with happiness and the dark circles under Loki's eyes faded away. For a time, their worries were forgotten and they basked in the warmth of their creation.

Later, Loki sat by the window in his and Sigyn's bedroom, looking out at the moon and thinking of just how grateful he was that his family had made it through this ordeal and come out stronger than before. He had been sure that the Fates would make his wife and children leave him, but they had been kind and allowed him to keep that which was closest to his heart. Still, it had been a blow to have his own brother be the one to hold him down while he was punished. Thor had told him he was sorry, but he was no quite ready to forgive. Then there was his father, who had condoned the whole thing. And what of his children? They had been subjected to aimless hatred, even though they were just innocent kids. He could only hope that they had grown stronger in learning that the blood of one of the most disliked men in all of Asgard flowed in their veins.

Soon, the drums of war began to beat again and Loki was called to fight, leaving Sigyn and the five young ones alone. During that time, Asgard was lulled into forgetfulness of Loki's crimes and his children could roam the palace without fear of ridicule once again.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry for making Sif seem so mean, but I go where the plot bunnies take me. I'm having trouble deciding what I want the next chapter to be about. I'm thinking either Freyr teaches the boys about girls or Thor goes fishing (the latter being based on the mythology), but I don't know if I want to do those yet. Any input in the form of a review would be forever appreciated. P.S.: Thrud and Ullr are Sif's kids (Thor is Thrud's father) and Forseti is Baldr and Nanna's son. ~T.Z.**


	6. Granduncle Freyr's Guide To Success

**A/N: Hiya! Thank you for the lovely reviews! My fingers were practically flying across the keyboard keys because I want to bring you guys this chapter as soon as possible because I love all and you motivate me so much (yes, I know I say that a lot, but it's true). P.S. to lokiswife: Glad to be of service. Anything for my loyal reviewer.**

**WARNING: This chapter has a rather dark part near the end involving blood.**

Granduncle Freyr's Guide to Success

Sometimes, when Sigyn was feeling anxious or lonely, she would go down to the royal gardens early in the morning and sing to the flowers. On one such occasion, she had been depressed by waking up and being reminded by his side of the bed being empty that Loki was still off fighting in the war. Everything was quiet in the garden and as she walked, the blond gazed at the sunrise, wondering if her beloved was fairing well. The only thing she could hear was the soft trickle of water from a nearby fountain and she found it strangely calming. As she rounded a corner, a new sound reached her ears, a soft humming. Following it, she wondered if she wasn't as alone as she thought she'd been. Soon, she caught sight of a blue glow and as she drew closer, she realized that it was Narfi. The eleven year old was healing the withering flowers. His mother watched in amazement as the dying plant he cupped in his hands bloomed beautifully.

"Narfi?" At the sound of her voice, the boy jumped and the blue glow disappeared. He looked around at her in surprise and smiled nervously. "How long have you been able to do that?" Sigyn did not bother to ask him what he was doing there, for she had a feeling it was the same as her reason. She was more interested in what she had just seen anyway.

"I-I...um...remember that one time Vali got beat up?"

"You are going to have to be more specific than that." the woman said with a sad smile, recalling how Vali had been in a fight more than once.

"When I was six, I think, and we went outside the palace. I was trying to clean the blood off of Vali's face and somehow, all his cuts and stuff went away." the boy explained. "I figured out how to do it again when I fell and hurt my knee." For a moment, Sigyn just stared at him, but then she came closer and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Narfi, why would you keep this from us for so long?"

"I was not hiding it. It just never occurred to me to tell you." From this response, several things fell into place in his mother's mind. It explained why Narfi never seemed to come home physically hurt. It also gave a sense of context to a dream she'd had of Narfi wearing the white robes of a healer. However, what really struck her was how far the boy had come without any training at all. At his age, she had only a basic grasp of magic, but he was already blooming flowers and that was leaps and bounds beyond the skills of beginner. As far as Sigyn could see, her son had the potential to surpass Eir, the greatest of Asgard's healers.

"Can you do other things?" Sigyn asked, wondering if he'd learned anything from all those times she'd seen him watching his brother.

"I can do many of the things I have watched Vali and Hela do. I just reach inside myself for the same feeling the heals things and copy their movements and it works. I have not figured out how to shapeshift like Fenrir or Jörmungandr yet, though. Their magic feels different." Okay, scratch that. This child had the potential to surpass not just Eir in healing, but his own father, who many grudgingly referred to as one of Asgard's greatest sorcerers. Sigyn was filled with pride and she beamed at her son, thinking of how happy Loki would be to hear this news.

"That is amazing, dear."

"Really?" The boy's gray eyes grew wide with astonished joy and he followed her as she went to sit on a nearby stone bench.

"Yes." Suddenly, it occurred to her that since Narfi was half Vanir, he might become able to dream the future and she grew concerned. She did not want his soft heart to be burdened with such a thing. "Tell me, Narfi, do you ever have visions?"

"How do you mean?"

"Have you ever dreamt something that later became reality?"

"No."

"Good, but tell me if you do, alright?"

"Of course, mother." For now, this satisfied Sigyn, but she was aware that the Gift might manifest itself in him at any point. He was still very young, but she had feared that because of his great affinity for magic, it might present itself early. Wrapping one arm around him, she held him close and they sat there in silence for a while. Narfi rested his head on his mother's shoulder with a sadness in his eyes. "I miss father." he suddenly said softly.

"I do too, little one. I do too." With this, Sigyn placed a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead before standing up and beckoning for him to follow her back inside.

* * *

"Thank you for offering to take care of the boys again, uncle." Sigyn told Freyr with a smile as she and Hela dawned their cloaks. The young girl had been very eager to see the Vanir palace ruins in Vanaheim and Sigyn had been willing to show her, so today they would take that trip. However, the boys had not been as enthusiastic and so their mother had to find someone to take care of them while she and Hela were gone.

"No problem, dear." After giving the man a small hug, Sigyn turned to leave with her daughter following close behind. Once they were gone, Freyr turned to the four boys in the room and observed that three of them had a mischievous glint in their eyes that he seen before in their father. "Okay, I know you are plotting something and whatever it is, you can forget about it. Anything you do, I will be held accountable for, so please, give me a break and do not cause trouble. I do not need your mother coming after me with a knife." At this, Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Vali grinned back at the man guiltily, causing him to let out a jovial laugh. "By Odin, do you not have anything better to do?" He knew Vali had become Loki's apprentice, so he probably had some studying to do, but the others? Did any of these kids have social lives? "You two. You are old enough to have girlfriends." Freyr continued, gesturing to Fenrir and Jörmungandr. They looked at each other awkwardly, knowing all too well that they had a habit of unintentionally scaring girls away the moment they opened their mouthes and revealed their particularly long and sharp canine teeth. "Come now, you cannot tell me none of you have ever gotten that fluttery feeling in your stomach when you see a girl."

"Well, um, Vali has a crush on one of the elf girls studying here in Asgard." Jörmungandr suddenly said, pointing at the younger sibling in hopes of drawing attention away from his own failures.

"What? No, I do not!" the thirteen year old burst out defensively, blushing and glaring at his older brother in disbelief, incredulous that he had been sold out so quickly. Jörmungandr grinned back at him with amused satisfaction, frustrating him further.

"Well, well. That sounds interesting. Does she know you exist?" Freyr responded, looking a great deal amused himself. Realizing that there was no way for him to get out of this, Vali let out a sigh of resignation before replying.

"Yes, she knows who I am."

"And do you know her name?"

"No."

"We will just have to fix that then, will we not?" To be honest, Vali did not much like where this was going. It was already embarrassing enough to have this out there, but for Freyr to be questioning him about it was practically unbearable. "Come, children. Let me teach you the art of catching a woman's eye." The man beckoned for them to follow him as he made to leave. They fell into step behind him, though only after a small moment of hesitation.

"Granduncle, where are we going?" Fenrir asked in a tone of slight suspicion. Freyr let out a small chuckle and grinned.

"Nowhere in particular." They had little idea what he meant by this until they arrived in the palace courtyard and caught sight of a group of young noblewomen talking. "Watch closely." Freyr told the boys before approaching the women. "Good morning, ladies." Just at his greeting, they blushed and giggled. It reminded the children vividly of how women reacted to Uncle Thor's friend Fandral. "How are you fairing this fine day?"

"Quite well, thank you. And you, Lord Freyr?" one of them responded, smoothing her violet gown.

"Good, thank you."

"Is that Lady Sigyn's brood you are looking after?"

"Yes. They are a very tight knit bunch. Always looking out for each other. Always polite."

"Cute." one woman commented, causing all four of the brothers to turn bright red and stare at their feet. Freyr laughed light heartedly and brushed a lock of wavy golden hair out of his eyes at this.

"Well, it was nice talking with you. The boys and I should get going. Farewell." the man said, giving the noblewomen a deep bow and relishing their flustered smiles before turning to walk away, Loki's sons quickly following him. "Did you see that? That was a little something called charm. The ladies love it. You can have practically any woman pining for you if you employ the appropriate amount of charm." Freyr told them with an air of great wisdom.

"And what if we haven't got charm?" Jörmungandr asked, his thin eyebrows raised in skepticism. He glanced at his triplet brother, who was not renown for being especially elegant or possessing a lot of finesse.

"Then you will be hard pressed to get any attention from a girl. But do not worry, charm is different for every person. All it boils down to is being flirtatious and polite in such a way as to gain the favor of whomever you are talking to." the blond explained. "For instance, take this Alf crush of Vali's." Cue Vali blushing with an unamused expression on his face. "Charming to her might be offering to carrying her books or asking her a question about her people. Whereas," Freyr turned to the brother clad in gray furs, "the sort of girl Fenrir would be interested in might find a compliment to her hunting skills to be very charming. It is all a manner of perspective." Fenrir frowned and became slightly flushed at this, but said nothing.

"Right...thanks, granduncle." Jörmungandr said awkwardly, unsure if any of what they were being told was at all valuable. Then again, the man did seem to have a way with woman, so that granted him a measure of credibility.

"Can we go have lunch now?" Narfi asked, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. His brothers nodded in agreement and quickly looked to Freyr for a reaction.

"Goodness, is it midday already? Well, if you are hungry, I do not see why not." They then turned to go home, the elder three brothers eternally grateful to Narfi for that save. However, the young boy would later lose the favor he'd gained with them by asking Freyr a very different sort of question at the table.

"Granduncle Freyr, what does it mean when mother and father lock their door at night? Hela told me they are sharing a special hug that no one is allowed to see, but I think she was joking." At this, every pair of eyes in the room snapped to Narfi with a look of disbelief. Fenrir and Jörmungandr were fighting desperately with themselves not to burst into uncontrollable laughter and Vali had his face in his hands while Freyr just gaped at the eleven year old, fork paused halfway to his mouth. The blond just couldn't believe how naïve Narfi was. Sure, he knew these kids were a little on the sheltered side, but this boy was practically an adolescent and he still didn't know where babies come from. At least he could tell by their reactions that they others were much more enlightened.

"Well...your sister was sort of right, but she skipped out on a lot of the details." This was all Freyr could think to say, having never been confronted with the problem of explaining this to a child as well as considering it wasn't exactly his place do so.

"Narfi, borrow Hela's book on anatomy. It will explain everything." Vali interjected sternly. He was met with stares and frowned, feeling offended that they thought he had been snooping in his sister's room. "What? Jörmungandr played a trick on me and I got locked in her room for hours with a choice between looking at all the skulls and things she has decorated the place with or reading her books."

"Ah, well, in any case, I think you should take Vali's advice." Freyr responded, grateful for the older brother's clever solution to this problem. Suddenly, Fenrir and Jörmungandr could no longer control themselves and they began laughing hysterically. Narfi looked at them with a confused expression on his face.

"What is so funny?" he asked.

"N-Nothing, hahaha, little brother...hahahahaha..." Fenrir managed to say before calming down a little. "Sorry."

* * *

Later, after spending a larger part of the afternoon enduring Freyr's teasing and attempts at wisdom, the brothers were saved by the sight of Sigyn and Hela in the doorway, smiling happily.

"How was your trip?" the man inquired, giving his niece a small hug. "There are a lot of ghosts in that place. I would feel a little emotional going back there."

"We did not see any ghosts, but there were plenty of lingering sorrows from ages long past. It was beautiful." Hela said with a smile. For a moment, Freyr just stared at her, but then he weakly returned her smile.

"Thanks again for looking after the boys. I hope they were not a handful for you." Sigyn spoke up to break the awkward silence.

"Oh no, they were very good. You have been blessed with wonderful children, Sigyn." the man replied with a grin. He left with a bow and the woman turned to her sons with her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to judge if his words had been the truth or not. After a moment, they passed the test and she smiled.

"So, what did you all do while we were away?"

"Granduncle Freyr explained to us about how to treat girls if we like them." Vali admitted.

"Did he now? Well, if you want my advice, respect and care for a woman and the way to her heart will be clear." At least, that was how decent men did it, in her opinion. Part of the reason Sigyn had fallen for Loki was because he treated her like an equal and showed her that he cared about her. She knew Sif had been attracted to Thor mainly because he acknowledged her as a skilled warrior and Nanna had accepted Baldr's proposal because he obviously would do anything to make her happy.

Sigyn's train of thought was interrupted abruptly when a messenger came knocking at the door to excitedly tell her that the war was over and Asgard's armies would be returning within the hour. Almost too excited for words, she relayed this message to the children and they began dancing about the room, singing that father was coming home.

"Come now, get your formal clothes on. You want to be presentable for this celebration, do you not?" Immediately, they all rushed to their rooms and came out twenty minutes later looking their best (though Sigyn did not bother to say anything about the state of Fenrir's hair as she had tried several times to tame it with no success). Seeing that they were all ready, Sigyn took them down the gates of the Bifrost where an ecstatic crowd had already gathered. Soon, they caught sight of soldiers marching down the bridge and everyone cheered. As the warriors started to reunite with their families, Sigyn looked eagerly about for any sign of those telltale golden goat horns and with each passing moment, she grew more worried until Baldr approached her wearing a grim expression. The moment she saw the look on the white haired man's face, her heart sank.

"Lady Sigyn, I regret to inform you that Loki has been missing for a month now." he told her quietly, not wanting his niece and nephews to hear. The woman' knees grew weak and found herself holding tightly to Fenrir and Jörmungandr's shoulders for support. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. "I am sorry."

"Where is father?" Vali asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. He just didn't want to believe it.

"Not now, Vali. We need to take mother home." Jörmungandr hissed sternly before helping his triplet brother guide Sigyn away. The blond looked ill and she was staring blankly off into space. Once they were home, they set her down on her bed and she just lay there, unmoving, her gray eyes void of any emotion. "Mother?" No response. "Hela, what is wrong with her?"

"We need to get her to acknowledge our presence or she will be lost to us." the girl responded quickly, recalling something she'd read in a psychology book.

"How do we do that?" Vali demanded after frantically waving his hand in front of his mother's face and receiving no response.

"Give her something that would remind her of father." At this, an idea struck Vali as he recalled a memory from long ago. Humming into his palms, he conjured a purple and black flower and put it in Sigyn's had. No response. "That is not specific enough." Hela snapped.

"Smells are the strongest memories." Fenrir said, grabbing the pillow on the other side of the bed. "This is swathed in father's scent." He held the pillow close to Sigyn's face and after a few moments, she reached up and took it from him, embracing it tightly. They all let out a sigh of relief but were quickly dragged back into seriousness by the sight of the tears that were streaming from Sigyn's eyes. Narfi reached out and took her hand comfortingly.

"We are here, mother." he murmered.

"Someone should go and represent our family at the feast." Vali suggested solemnly.

"I will do it." Hela said, ever the one to bear responsibility. With one last sorrowful glance at her step-mother, she left the room and went to sit at the royal table in the place that normally would have been occupied by her father. She got many strange looks from others, but she held her head high, proud to be called Lokidottir.

* * *

That night, Narfi couldn't sleep. It had just begun to sink in that he would never see his father again, never get the chance to show him his talent for magic and make him proud. After crying in his bed for hours, he decided he couldn't take sitting still anymore and began wandering the tower, listening to the thunderstorm outside. It was very dark, but Narfi found his way to the study. He was immediately drawn to the window where he could see the rain and the lightning. It wonderfully illustrated the emotions he had bottled up inside him. He reached out and touched the glass, feeling oddly comforted by its cold.

"Narfi..." he suddenly heard a hoarse voice softly whisper. The boy jumped and looked around. But for the square of light from the window, the room was black until there was a loud crack of lightning that lit up the whole study. Narfi gasped, wide eyed, as he saw his father limping slowly toward him, clutching his side, blood leaking from between his fingers and from the corner of his mouth. There were dark circles around his eyes, his skin was practically milk white and he was dripping wet. A look determination was in his green orbs as he gazed intently at his son and made to reach out at touch to boy, but collapsed.

"Father!" Narfi cried and then it was dark again. Terrified and unable to see, he flicked his wrist on instinct and all the candles in the room began to burn with bright blue flame. Now he could quite clearly make out Loki crumpled on the ground, dark red spreading across the floor. With shaking hands, the boy looked for the source of the bleeding and pulled the prince's hands away from it so he could get at it. Pressing his own hands to the wound, he mentally reached inside himself for the same power that healed the flowers and almost immediately tendrils of blue magic gathered in his palms and released themselves into Loki's body. The man had a sharp intake of breath at this and his eyes opened wide, giving Narfi hope. However, it quickly became apparent that he wasn't healing as fast as Loki was bleeding and the prince was losing consciousness. "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!" Narfi screamed as loudly as he could. In moments, Sigyn came bursting through the door, wide eyed. The second she saw her husband, she was at his side and placed her hands over Narfi's, lending him her power. It quickly became too much for the boy and he passed out.

* * *

"Hello." Narfi's gray eyes fluttered open the next morning to see Sigyn smiling brightly down at him. He was in his own bed and the sun was shining warmly through the window. "Would you like to see your father?" she asked him.

"What?"

"You saved his life. He is with the healers now. Do you want to visit him?" It took the dark haired boy a moment to process what was happening, but then he grinned and nodded fervently. Getting up, he took his mother's hand and they went to the healers, who showed them right to Loki's room.

"My lord, your little savior is here to see you." Eir announced to Loki as they entered. The man was lying on the bed, his upper body bare but for the bandages wrapped thickly around his waist. He smiled upon seeing Sigyn and Narfi and gingerly reached up to ruffle his son's hair.

"Your mother tells me you used healing magic to save me."

"Yes."

"How did he do?" Loki turned to ask Eir. The woman raised her eyebrows at this and eyed Narfi thoughtfully before responding.

"Well, he lacked a great deal of precision, but he did succeeded in repairing a number of important blood vessels. To be honest, I am astounded. None of the apprentices his age can even revive fish yet."

"Really? I am very lucky and very proud, then." Narfi beamed at this and Loki laughed.

"If he wishes it, we would be happy to have him study with us." This offer was almost to good to be true. The boy's dream was to become a field medic and the opportunity to study with the greats was too good to pass up.

"Can I, father?" he asked excitedly.

"I do not see why not." Ecstatic, Narfi had to resist the urge to give Loki a bear hug and Sigyn saw this, causing her to laugh.

"Do not get him too excited. Something inside him might break." she joked. They continued talking for a while and Narfi explained how he'd stumbled upon his affinity for magic. However, eventually, Sigyn asked him if she could talk to Loki alone (meaning about the war) and he followed Eir out the door. As he sat on one of the golden benches outside, waiting for Sigyn to come out, he caught sight of a dark haired girl about his age tending to a potted plant nearby. He suddenly grew very nervous when she looked up at him with her pure blue eyes and smiled.

"Hello." she said with a giggle.

"Hi. What is your name?" The question just slipped out before he could catch himself.

"Nörvi, Daughter of Eir. You must be Narfi Lokison." At that moment, the young boy suddenly understood a great deal of what Freyr had been talking about.

**A/N: I tried to combine comedy and tragedy. I'm not so sure it turned out well. For some reason, my stories always having really horribly dark parts and the parts that are supposed to be funny are never that funny. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please review. I'll try to put out another chapter soon, but I'm still trying to come up with ideas. If you have a suggestion, please do share it. Thanks! ~T.Z.**

**P.S.: AVENGERS IN FOUR DAYS!**


	7. Individuality and Siblings

**A/N: Hiya! Thank you for the amazing reviews (cue "LET ME LOVE YOU!" gif) I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I was having really bad writer's block and then Avengers came out and I went to go see it but the theatre was sold out so I didn't get to see it and I went into a horrible nerdy depression. I might get to see it in a couple days if I'm lucky. Anyway, about this chapter. I hope you like it. It took me a while to come up with ideas for it. Please R&R. Thanks!**

Individuality and the Horrors of Having Siblings

It hardly seemed like a day had gone by to Loki and Sigyn when suddenly it was Fenrir, Hela, and Jörmungandr's sixteenth birthday. The prince convinced the royal family to hold a small celebration for his eldest children, much to the three's surprise and delight. Never in their lives had they been given as much attention as they were when they sat at the head of the banquet table with Odin, being presented with an enormous roasted boar that had been slain and prepared in their honor.

"The first bite is yours." the AllFather told them with a smile. The three stared at each other for a moment, wondering which of them he had been referring to, but then Hela rolled her eyes and counted off so they could all be first.

The feast was only the beginning of their celebration. They were presented with gifts from various of their friends and family. From their parents, they each received formal armor stylized to fit their personalities. From Vali and Narfi, they were given a jar of burn ointment as an inside joke. Lady Amora gave Hela an ornate amulet, telling her that while she wore it, no physical boundaries could cage her in. From their little cousin Forseti, they each received a small wood carving of something that reminded the boy of them; Fenrir- a wolf, Hela- a skull, and Jörmungandr- a serpent. Thor revealed that he and Baldr had been the ones to slay the boar for the feast. They received nothing from Sigyn's side of the family (they didn't even attend the event). The Vanir refused to acknowledge them because they were not Sigyn's children. It was not spoken about, but the three were keenly aware of it. Sif was only present at their birthday celebration because Thor and Thrud were. Like the Vanir, she refused to accept the triplets as family. However, they did not let this bother them and they remained joyous throughout the entire event. By the time they got home, they were a little tipsy from enjoying a bottle of some very fine mead given to them by Odin and Hela didn't even make it to her room before she was asleep on the couch in the common room.

"Ahehe...spirits..." she muttered before dozing off. For some reason, this had her brothers giggling until Sigyn told them to go to bed. Vali and Narfi didn't have to be told, but the woman reminded them not to stay up for hours into the night and study. They gave her guilty smiles in return, but when she went by their room later, their wasn't any light coming from under their door, which pleased her. In a good mood, Sigyn went to bed herself. She curled up next to Loki and he wrapped his arms around her. The prince appeared to be troubled by something and Sigyn entwined her fingers with his as a way of showing that she would listen to anything he had to say.

"I am worried." he whispered. "This evening, it felt fake. It felt insincere."

"How?"

"You did not see it? No one really cares about the triplets. In fact, they wish they did not exist." Sigyn frowned at this and leaned over to rest her forehead against Loki's.

"Where did you get such silly notions from? Your family accepted them long ago. I know my family and Sif have not, but that does not matter. Even if any of them do wish the three did not exist, I highly doubt they would do anything to hurt our children." the woman reasoned. Sadly, this did little to quiet Loki's concerns. He was much less trusting than his wife and he knew the cruelty many in the court would resort to given the chance.

"They would use me as an excuse to hurt them." At this, Sigyn stared at him with wide eyes. Whether it was fear or shock, her husband could not tell.

"D-Do not say such things!" she stammered, shaking her head. The mere thought that anyone would want to harm the children was unbelievable to her. They were innocent. Even Tyr, who was warlike and hardly knew his nephews and niece, could not possibly do such a thing. Even those who despised Loki would not stoop that low...right?

"I am sorry. My worries are getting the better of me." the man said upon seeing the effect his words were having on his wife. He gave her a reassuring smile and stroked her long golden hair. "Sleep and forget I ever said anything." After a moment in which she just gazed at him anxiously, he noticed that she clenched the black fabric of his loose shirt in her hand as if letting go would result in her death, telling him that he had made her afraid. Maybe she _had_ seen the cold distance the rest of their families held toward them. "Sigyn, I promise you, everything is fine. I was just being paranoid." Wrapping his arms around her again, he pulled her close so that her head could rest on his chest. The blond took a deep breath and closed her eyes, calming considerably. Within moments, she was asleep, leaving Loki to silently worry for his loved ones.

* * *

That night, the Fates chose to show Sigyn snippets of visions, fleeting and without much in the way of context. Her dreams began with the day the Vanir had been brought to Asgard. She had been very small at the time and hadn't understood why they were leaving Vanaheim or why her father wasn't with them. All she had known was that she was going to live in the palace in the capital city of Asgard. It had been frightening. She had cried. Then her dream skipped to Alfheim. The sorcerer who she had been working for was trapped inside his tower as she watched it burn, wide eyed. Despite her efforts, no water spells would work for her. The air was too hot and the water evaporated the moment it got anywhere near the fire. She was powerless to stop it. The dream skipped again. She was in Svartalfheim, falling from a cliff, heart pounding. It skipped again. Narfi stood on a bridge, holding his arms up in a defensive position, an apologetic expression on his face. There was a blurred flurry of movement and Narfi stumbled backwards, falling off the bridge. Sigyn opened her mouth to scream and made to reach out and catch her son, but she found that she was just a bodiless spectator and could do nothing.

"Sigyn!" someone called. "SIGYN! WAKE UP!" Suddenly, the woman's eyes shot open to find herself sitting up in bed. It was very dark, but she could see in the moonlight that Loki was gripping her wrists firmly, emerald eyes gazing intently at her through his disheveled black hair. She was breathing heavily and shaking, trying to make sense of everything. Seeing that his wife wasn't going to flail around screaming anymore, he let go of her wrists and held her face his hands. "It is alright. I am here. Tell me what you saw."

"I-I...at first, it was just memories, but then I saw...then I saw Narfi falling." At this, Loki just frowned, doing his best to hide the fear that was threatening to take hold of him. He had to be strong.

"Do not worry. You did not see him die. It will be alright." As he said this, his mind was racing with ideas of how to solve this problem. He was confident that Narfi would be alright as long as measures were taken to protect him.

* * *

"Narfi?" Loki called to his son as the boy put on his healer's cowl.

"Yes, father?" he turned around to see the dark haired man standing there with a familiar magpie sitting on his shoulder. The boy looked at him in puzzlement and Loki smiled.

"Ikol is going to accompany you while you are off with the healers. He will keep you safe." the sorcerer explained before the bird flew over to perch on Narfi's outstretched arm.

"What is this sudden concern for my safety?" he asked. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered to say anything, but he had been awoken by the sound of his mother's distress the previous night and had noticed there was something off in his father's voice.

"You are my son. That comes with certain...risks. I merely wish for there to be someone I know I can trust with you when you are away." Almost immediately, Loki saw the mistake in his words, for Narfi frowned (something he rarely did unless he was particularly bothered).

"You do not trust the healers?" The boy's voice was still calm, but there was an edge of hurt to it. Over the last year, he had grown fond of his tutors and the other people who were often in the healers' dwelling. Implications against their character were not something he took lightly.

"They cannot protect you like Ikol can." Loki replied carefully, making sure to convince Narfi that he was in no way trying to bash his teachers. Still, the boy got the feeling something was not being revealed to him. He wanted to know what it was that he should be so afraid of. Sure, he knew now that the House of Loki was widely disliked, but it had always been that way. Something had changed to make his father so concerned; he was sure of it. However, Narfi knew better than to press the matter further and decided to trust his father's judgement without further question.

"I see. Very well." With that, Ikol hopped onto Narfi's shoulder and they were off. "Farewell, father. I shall return for dinner." Loki watched as the last of the boy's white robe disappeared out the door, smirking at the thought of how his son often wore that robe like a cloak, letting it flow behind him while he wore clothing underneath that sported his father's colors. Despite being quiet and shy, the boy obviously held a lot of pride in his surname. It moved Loki, but it made him slightly anxious as well. He didn't want Narfi to inadvertently provoke unwanted attention. Still, he now could find comfort in the fact that Ikol was with the boy. The magpie could be his eyes in places he could not always be.

* * *

As much as he admired his tutor, Eir, Narfi had to admit the woman could be a bit demanding and strict. When he showed up that morning, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of Ikol, but said nothing about it. Instead, she just handed him a scroll. He unfurled it and stared at the long list of herbalism supplies written on it. He didn't even have to ask what she wanted him to do. Letting out a small sigh, he gave his teacher a bow and turned on his heel to leave just as quickly as he had come. Narfi disliked it when Eir sent him on meaningless tasks like these. He wondered what he had done to provoke her to have him do this. She only had him look for supplies when she was displeased in some way.

"I think it would have helped your case if you had remembered to put your uniform on all the way." Ikol told Narfi as they entered the forest, causing the boy to raise his eyebrows. "Healers are not known for their sense of individualism and self expression."

"So I have observed." the dark haired boy responded before kneeling down and picking a couple of white flowers to stow in his belt pouch. For a while, Narfi just wandered in silence, occasionally checking his list or picking something up. The bird elected not to disturb him, recognizing the look of deep thought that he had often seen in Loki. "Ikol, my friend, would you know why father has sent you to guard me?" Narfi asked after a while. The magpie let out an amused chirp before responding.

"Of course, young one."

"And that is your way of saying your beak is sealed."

"It is not my place to speak of such things." He had to give Narfi a little credit for perceptiveness. Not many could so easily see beyond the mask Loki often wore. However, it was up to Loki to share his reasons for being vague to his son. Personally, Ikol believed it best that Narfi never be told. He did not need the burden of knowing his mother was a dreamer of visions who had seen him fall to an uncertain fate. The boy had a soft heart and as such was unlikely to handle the information well.

"Ah." Narfi responded. At first, it was a quiet, resigned sound, but then it turned into a gasp of surprise as he tripped over a large tree root. About to fall over, he summoned a brief burst of energy to right himself. However, he overcompensated and fell backwards, landing on something, or rather, someone who did not feel like cold ground. Ikol squawked and flew up into the trees as this happened. When he looked around, he saw Narfi lying stunned on top of a dark haired girl he'd never seen before.

"Uuuuummm..." the girl wheezed and Narfi quickly scrambled to his feet.

"N-Nörvi? What are you doing here?" the boy asked in astonishment as he offered her his hand to pull her up. Nörvi smiled weakly and took the offered hand, blushing brightly.

"I-I was just curious. I did not want to disturb you. I used my father's invisibility ring to avoid being seen." she replied, picking up a small silver ring from the ground and tucking it in her pocket.

"You know, you could have just asked if you wanted to come with me." The words came out before he could even really think about them. The girl beamed at him, blushing brighter. Up in the trees, Ikol ruffled his feathers exasperatedly.

"Right, I was being silly. Forgive me." Nörvi apologized, looking at her feet and tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear.

"No harm done. Besides, you can help me look for these things Lady Eir has demanded I collect." Narfi gestured at the scroll he was holding. The girl nodded and they began to walk through the forest side by side. Ikol flew above them, observing closely. He knew of Nörvi, but as of yet, he could not definitively trust her. Suddenly, there was a break in the trees and they came to a long stone bridge.

"You should be able to easily find Old Man's Beard in the area beyond this bridge." Nörvi told Narfi confidently. The boy glanced with a frown at his flora map as they began walking across the bridge.

"That is not what this tells me."

"That map is from last year."

"I would ask that you elaborate on your point."

"The forest changes. No map from a whole year ago will be able to help you. On the other hand, I have been wandering this area for a while. I know where everything is. I know the patterns." Nörvi explained with a smirk, causing the dark haired boy to frown in skepticism.

"Are you sure? I must admit that I find it hard to believe that plants could move so quickly." At this, the girl gave him a playful nudge.

"Of course. Why would I lie?" Narfi let out a small laugh at this and shrugged.

"Perhaps you are a nymph attempting to lure me to my death." the boy joked, earning him an amused eye roll and a small push. He raised his arms in an apologetic gesture and took a step back. Unfortunately, he misstepped and lost his footing, letting out a loud gasp as he stumbled backwards and fell over the edge of the bridge.

"Narfi!" Nörvi cried, running to the edge as Ikol swooped down after the boy. They saw his white robe puff up like a parachute and his descent slowed to a safe glide until he landed a few moments later at the bottom of the verdant ravine. Ikol squawked at seeing the roughness of his landing.

"Wait here." the bird ordered Nörvi before flying down to the injured son of Loki. He perched himself on Narfi's shoulder and watched him straighten his own broken leg. He expected the boy to scream in pain, but he only flinched and his hands glowed blue as he healed himself. "Are you alright, young master?"

"I am focusing. Please do not distract me." Narfi responded in a strained voice after ten minutes of silence.

"Narfi? Forgive me. I swear I am not a nymph." He suddenly looked up to see Nörvi climbing down the side of the ravine. She was only a few meters above him when she slipped. Without even thinking, he sprang up and caught her in his arms. "Ah, um, th-thank you." she gasped before he put her down.

"Lady Nörvi, I do believe I advised you to remain on the bridge." Ikol reminded the girl sternly, though she did not hear him as she was too busy blushing and laughing with Narfi.

* * *

Sigyn smiled brightly the moment she saw Narfi come home. Her son was definitely alive and whole in addition to being in high spirits. Ikol flew past her and she turned to see her husband standing behind her.

"How was your day, son?" Before Narfi could answer the question, Vali appeared and snatched the item his brother's hand away. He held it up to reveal that it was a small rose bud made of black crystal.

"Narfi has a girlfriend!" Vali sang with a snicker holding the crystal out of his little brother's reach as he tried to get it back.

"Vali!" he whined.

"Vali, do not mock your brother. Give it back." Sigyn scolded, crossing her arms yet being unable to restrain herself from smiling. The older son obeyed her and Narfi quickly snatched back his crystal. "Would you mind telling us where you got that?"

"Sh-she is just a friend, alright." the boy sputtered, turning pink.

"Who?"

"Nörvi."

"Eir's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I see. Well, run along now. You do not want to be late for dinner, do you?" At this, Narfi quickly scampered off, Vali following close behind. Sigyn let out a sigh and turned to her husband, suddenly serious. "What did Ikol tell you?" she asked upon seeing that the magpie was no longer present.

"Apparently Narfi did have himself a fall from a bridge, but he used his healer's robe as a parachute to save himself. Just what I would expect from a clever boy like him." Loki answered with a smile before reaching out to take Sigyn's hand. "You had nothing to fear."

"But Ikol will continue to watch over him, yes?"

"Of course."

* * *

Dinner that evening was admittedly not all happiness and sunshine (which would be quiet the understatement). Fenrir and Jörmungandr were late and had been escorted home by a couple of palace guards who said the boys had been in a fight. Then there was the matter of finding out that Hela had an imaginary boyfriend (information provided by the eldest three boys), and though she handled it calmly, they could tell that she was extremely embarrassed. Seeing that Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Vali were in a particularly vicious mood, Loki sent them to their rooms, telling them that tongues that move too loosely are cut out.

Later, the man pondered with Sigyn as to why their oldest sons had suddenly decided to misbehave, particularly Fenrir and Jörmungandr. He wondered if something had happened that they were yet unaware of, but Sigyn told him they were just being teenage boys. Loki could only hope that she was right.

**A/N: ...and hopefully that will make a nice lead into the next chapter, which will include a lot of mythology stuff and it will probably make you hate Odin. Also sorry if these chapter didn't make sense at all. I was trying to fit together a bunch of loose ideas plus I've been having a lot of Narfi feels. Do you like that I included Ikol? Let me know what you think, please. Thanks! ~T.Z.**


	8. Responsibility

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I got dumped with a ton of school work. Thank you ever so much for the lovely reviews. Each one makes me smile (and sometimes cry with joy). Anyway, this chapter is kind of long and it jumps around a bit. I hope you like it anyway. Please R&R.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains one scene that might be considered slightly disturbing. Also Odin being a horrible grandfather.**

Responsibility

The AllFather wouldn't even have noticed that his three eldest grandchildren were becoming adults if not for the fact that they had been spending the last two years drawing attention to themselves. The king was growing tired of their shenanigans. He knew they were just lashing out against the way people treated their father, but they were becoming dangerous. Fenrir had come back from a recent war with a toughened heart and a great deal of ambition. He was picking up a reputation of ferocity in the battle arena and threatened anyone who spoke ill of his father. Jörmungandr had been caught dealing in poisons, but while Loki fervently assured everyone that his son was just interested as a scholar in the subject, Asgardians began to call the young man 'The Assassin in Waiting'. Hela managed to avoid disfavor with the public for the most part, but the young woman's mysteriousness and reputation for interesting views on death made her strange. However, Odin had to give her points for being very respectable and eloquent. She defended her family fiercely against accusations, but did it politely and confidently. For that reason, he began to consider her for the throne of Niflheim. The AllFather knew that Loki would object, but it couldn't be helped.

Then there was the matter of Vali and Narfi. The elder of the two was growing in power and restlessness, which was not by any means a good combination. The young man was taking a bit of heat for having an Alf girlfriend and though Odin had no objection to the relationship, he didn't approve of the way Vali was handling the kickback. He challenged anyone who made fun of him to a duel and those who accepted always found themselves in defeat, gaining him a reputation for a steadfast will to win.

On the other hand, Narfi was handling life after the recent war much better than his siblings. He never lashed out at insults and quietly went about his business, never being rude to anyone in any way. Odin liked Narfi. It was too bad that the boy had been called as a field medic at such a young age, but it couldn't have been helped. Now that he was back home, Narfi was finishing his studies with Eir as if nothing had happened to him in the last year. Baldr had been at the boy's side for most of the war and he seemed convinced that something was wrong, but Narfi just wasn't allowing anyone to see it. For the time being, Odin chose not to say anything on the matter, deciding that it was up to Loki and Sigyn to deal with any problems the young healer might be having.

The king had been pondering these things one morning until his train of thought was interrupted by a question from Frigga.

"When are you scheduling Hela's coming of age ball?" she asked, raising her eyebrows upon noticing that her husband hadn't been paying attention.

"Next week. It will give me time to tell Loki she will be Lady of Niflheim and receive his more than certainly negative reaction." Odin responded after a moment. Frigga nodded and continued giving instructions to a servant.

* * *

"I do not think it fair that Hela gets a celebration and we do not." Fenrir complained, moodily forking a piece of veal into his mouth. Hela rolled her eyes at this before turning her attention to Narfi.

"The AllFather might consider it if you would just behave yourselves." Sigyn responded with a wry smile.

"Who knew the most feared warrior in the arena would want his own ball." Vali quipped with a smirk. Fenrir let out a low growl in response and Loki shot him a look that quite clearly said 'cool it, hothead'. Jörmungandr laughed at this and the two other brothers joined him after a moment. They were dragged abruptly back to seriousness when Hela suddenly spoke up.

"Narfi, you have barely touched your meal." she commented. The young woman had been observing her little brother for the past ten minutes and noticed him pick up his fork only once in that entire time. Now that she thought back on it, it had been that way for a while.

"Forgive me. I am not very hungry." he replied quietly. All attention was on him, but he stared firmly at his lap.

"He is only hungry for Lady Eir's daughter." Fenrir snickered, causing Narfi to look even paler than he already was. Loki and Sigyn glared at Fenrir incredulously and pointed towards the door, making it clear that he was banished to his room. The young man frowned heavily, but said nothing before leaving.

"You are never hungry, brother." Hela said as if Fenrir had never interrupted. "What is wrong?" She tried to reach over and touch Narfi's wrist like she always did when she was trying to understand him, but he pulled away. He had never done that before, which confused her.

"I am fine. I am just not hungry." Narfi insisted before excusing himself from the table. Hela made to go after him, but Loki stopped her.

"Let him go. Sometimes it is better to let a boy have some alone time." he told her, though he knew he was going to intrude on that alone time later. There was no doubt that something was wrong with his son, but he didn't want to seem nosey to the boy. He had already shut out Vali (which was obvious from the fact that his apprentice hadn't told him anything about this before) and now Hela for that reason.

The rest of the meal was silent and once it was over, Loki instructed Vali and Jörmungandr to go study quietly. They obeyed without question and Hela went off to the library, saying nothing. For a moment, Loki and Sigyn just stood in the dining hall, looking at each other, but then the dark haired man reached out to put his hands around her waist, looking into her eyes with an expression of comfort.

"It was the war, wasn't it. That did this to them." Sigyn suddenly said. "They are too young. We should not have let them go."

"Odin needed warriors and they were eager to go. I had Thor and Baldr help me watch over them on the battlefield, but even then, we should be eternally grateful that all of them returned." Loki reasoned. This did nothing to calm his wife, however.

"That depends on what you mean by returned." They both knew that the boys who left for war never truly came back. The children who had sat with them that evening were not the same. "Narfi was thirteen when he was sent over as a medic. _Thirteen._ A _child_, Loki. Odin sent a _child_ to the battlefield." Sigyn's voice shook as she spoke, full of hurt and anger. Her hands were fisted, pressing against Loki's chest, almost threatening to push him away. However, he only pulled himself closer to her in response.

"I agree with you, but what is there to be done except help the boys cope? I will speak with Narfi. I will find out what ails him, even if he refuses to respond. I am by no means evading the issue at hand." Loki reached up and stroked the side of Sigyn's face as he said this. She closed her eyes before burying her face in his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around him.

"I just want my sons back."

"I promise I will make things right." he whispered to her.

* * *

Loki knocked softly on Narfi's bedroom door. He'd had his own room since he began his apprenticeship with the healers, not wanted to be disturbed by Vali. His father hadn't seen inside the room since the war ended. In fact, he didn't think anyone had. When the boy wasn't off with Eir, he locked himself away and didn't let anyone bother him, not even his parents.

"Narfi?" Loki called when he received no response, growing worried despite this being what he had expected. Still, no answer came. "Narfi, if you do not open this door, I can easily pick the lock and enter anyway." Still no response. Sighing heavily, the prince made a twisting motion with his hand and heard the lock click open. He opened the door and walked inside, preparing to say something. At first, all he saw was Narfi sitting at his desk, pouring over a tome, but then he saw the walls and ceiling and he let out a small gasp. The parts that had previously been blank stone were now covered in large, dark red lettering. 'FORGIVE ME' over and over again in blood. Loki's green eyes widened in horror. What was wrong with his son? To write in blood was to evoke very strong forms of magic. Without even saying anything at first, the man stormed over to Narfi and grabbed his shoulder, forcing the boy to look at him. "Would you like to tell me what is going on?" he demanded. Narfi said nothing and simply gazed up at his father serenely. "Answer me, young man." Loki ordered, trying not to shout, but being unable to hold back his anger and hoisting the boy up by his tunic collar. "Do not make me use mind invasion magic on my own son. I am trying to help you, Narfi."

"No one can help me. I did not wish to burden my family with this. Please go." the gray eyed teen said after a few moments. Loki shook his head at this and tightened his grip on the black cloth.

"No. Tell me what is going on. You cannot be sure I am unable to help you unless you tell me what the problem is." At this, Narfi raised his eyebrows, but despite feeling his father's efforts were futile, he humored him.

"During the war, I saw warriors die who I could have saved if I had just tried a little harder. I saw things that haunt me each time I close my eyes." Suddenly, it all made sense. The boy was feeling guilt and had begged forgiveness in his blood from the spirits of those he had been unable to save. This had happened to Sigyn before, but she had never reacted to it like Narfi, probably because he had been there to help her before she could get very isolated.

"You cannot save everyone. People die. It is the nature of fate. If you had spread yourself too thin, nothing good would have come of it. You need not feel responsible for those whose fate was sealed." Loki knew all too well what happened when one tried to use powerful magic on more than one person for an extended period. If the caster's instincts didn't kick in and stop the flow of power through the body before he or she ran out of energy, first would come pain and dizziness and then if the caster hadn't passed out soon after that, death. Knowing Narfi, if the boy had pushed any harder, he would have died and many more lives would have been lost because he wouldn't have been there to save them. "I have seen many sorcerers die for Asgard, not because they were felled by the enemy, but because they cast spells until they could not even summon their own life force to fight. The longer you can dance out of the Fates' reach, the more people you can help dance with you."

"I understand, father, but no amount of explaining can take my nightmares away." Narfi responded sorrowfully. He had never doubted that his father could help him understand his guilt, but he knew that when he closed his eyes, he would still see warriors before him, being slain in the most horrid ways imaginable, blood everywhere. Loki gritted his teeth at Narfi's words, something suddenly occurring to him.

"Do you often dream of things that have happened or might happen?" the man inquired in a frantic, concerned tone, shaking his son a little. The boy looked back at him, now a little scared, with wide eyes.

"I-I do not know!"

"When did your nightmares start!"

"I-I-I...m-maybe a year ago...I do not know!"

"Are they always the same?"

"N-No..." At this, Loki swore under his breath and began dragging the boy towards the door.

"It is time for you to have a certain conversation with your mother."

* * *

"What! NO! She is too young!" Loki growled at Odin upon hearing his father's plans to crown Hela Queen of Niflheim. The young woman stood beside him looking as calm as ever.

"The Realm of the Dead needs a new ruler. She is the most qualified of any Asgardian and she is of age." the AllFather replied, doing nothing to help convince Loki of his decision.

"That is too much responsibility for someone so young!" At this, Hela put a hand on Loki's shoulder and gave him a sad smile.

"It is alright, father. I would gladly bear this burden." she told him before turning to Odin. "I accept the position."

"Very well. You shall be crowned at your coming of age ball." The king dismissed them before Loki could object any further. As they walked out of the throne room, Hela took the arm her father offered. Her pearly eyes were full of sympathy at seeing how frustrated and depressed he was.

"Father, you do not need to worry about me. I can do this. I_ want_ to do this." she reassured him. He gave her a wistful smile and they kept walking in silence. When they returned home, Sigyn and the rest of the children were sitting in the common room and looked up from what they had been doing when the two entered.

"What did the AllFather want?" Sigyn asked.

"I am to be Queen of Niflheim." Hela announced, earning her looks of shock and disbelief, though it quickly passed.

"Uh, congratulations, dear." The woman was hesitant about her own words upon seeing the expression on Loki's face. She decided she better change the subject before this got ugly.

"While you were away, Narfi told me all about his problem. The good news is that I can easily help him. The bad news is that he has the Gift, just as we feared he would one day." she told her husband as he approached her, speaking only loud enough for him to hear. "Fortunately, he is a Metaphorical Dreamer, meaning his visions are usually symbolic and are not a direct window into the future. He can only gather meaning from them if he consciously interprets them."

"What can you do for him?"

"There is an elixir that when taken regularly, will dampen his Gift and give him peace of mind." Sigyn explained, glancing at Narfi, who was now playing chess with Vali (much to the elder brother's surprise and delight). She was glad her husband had taken the initiative to confront the adolescent. If he hadn't, Narfi might have gone down a one way path to nowhere pleasant. Now she had some measure of assurance that her dear son was going to be alright.

"Did you make him promise not speak of this to anyone but us?"

"Yes, though I do not think he realizes why. He has no strong sense of Aesir or Vanir like the generation before us. He does not realize that if my family were to discover that he has the Gift, they would claim him a Vanir and try to undo everything we taught him about identity." They had worked so hard to ensure that Vali and Narfi never felt they had to choose which group they belonged to and that they were simply Asgardian. To have that undone would be highly upsetting for Loki and Sigyn.

"I see. And the blood on his walls?"

"Cleaned up. He says he will not do it again."

"Good." Loki took comfort in the fact that at least things were looking up just a little. Seeing this in him, Sigyn smiled and entwined her fingers with his before turning to look at Hela, who was intently watching Vali and Narfi play chess.

"We should be proud. She will make a wonderful queen."

"I know...it just..."

"We have to let them go someday." Loki was unable to find words to express what he was feeling, which was a strange and rare experience for him. He didn't want Hela to leave, but at the same time, he wanted her to be Niflheim's glorious queen, just not while she still lacked wisdom. It was upsetting that Odin had just sprung this on them, but she had already accepted the title and there was nothing Loki could do.

"It has only been eight years since she and her brothers came to us and she already has to leave. It is not fair." Sigyn knew exactly how he was feeling and leaned her head against his shoulder as a way of telling him this. Hela knew of their feelings though they did not voice them to her. She was determined to show them that she could do what had been asked of her, even if she lacked experience.

* * *

As soon as Nörvi looked up from her work table to see Narfi approaching her with Ikol hovering behind him, she raised her eyebrows. It was the first time since he'd come back from the war that she'd seen him without sad blankness in his features.

"Hello, Nörvi." he greeted her tranquilly.

"Oh, you are speaking to me again?" she responded with a playful smile, which he returned a little.

"Forgive me for my distance with you. I was not myself." he said, not wanting to get into detail about it. Ever since his mother had begun giving him that elixir, his mind had been at peace and he felt like he could be happy again, but it was frustrating that he could not tell his friend about any of it if she asked. He did not want to lie to her.

"I see. So he who is called the Medic Prince is not perfect?"

"No one is."

"Damn. I was hoping you would prove that wrong." Nörvi returned, her smile widening. Narfi blushed brightly and laughed, flattered that she thought so highly of him. "So what brings you to my humble workspace this fine morning?"

"Oh, right. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my guest at Hela's ball." The fourteen year old didn't even have time to think before the words slipped out and he felt his heart begin to race as he realized what he'd just said. What if she said no?

"O-Of course! It would be _my_ honor!" she managed to reply through all her blushing and sudden nervousness. For a moment, they just stared at each other, but then they both laughed. "I am glad mother lets me speak with you. I have not been allowed friends of my own choosing before. I think she trusts you more than she does any of the other apprentices."

"You think so? Besides my family, I do not have anyone but you. It is an interesting twist of fate that we who are so shut in should find each other." The conversation was pleasant and warm, something he had missed dearly. He persuaded Nörvi to help him with his work just so that he could talk to her all day. To his surprise, Lady Eir didn't seem to mind at all and that evening, he practically skipped home because he was in such a good mood. As he removed his healer's cowl on the way to his room and Ikol flew off, Vali stopped him, wearing a devious grin.

"I take it she said yes." he said and Narfi nodded, trying to hide his overflowing excitement as much as he could, but Vali knew just by looking at him that this was huge for the younger brother. "Odin's Beard, you are such a romantic." he teased.

"And you are not? One whose girlfriend is Bryn of Alfheim? Besides, Nörvi is just a friend. I do _not_ have a crush on her like everyone thinks." Narfi protested, raising his raven eyebrows. Vali snickered and rolled his eyes at this.

"Right." was all the older brother said. He did not want to provoke his brother further on the subject of Bryn. It was a topic that struck very close to the most tender part of his heart and to have Narfi use it as a comeback meant that the boy did not take his jibe about Nörvi lightly. Still, Vali brushed it off with his sarcastic remark and went off on his way to turn a few notes in to his father for review. Narfi watched him go with an amused expression, knowing he'd won that little battle (for once).

* * *

The day of Hela's ball arrived sooner than her parents would have liked. Sigyn quietly braided her daughter's long black hair that evening as the prepared. She would have Hela looking no less that perfect. The young woman sat there calmly while her step mother braided her hair and said nothing until Sigyn spoke to her.

"Hela, are you not nervous?"

"What is the point of being nervous? I cannot afford to be nervous." the pearly eyed girl replied serenely. Sigyn raised her eyebrows at this and smiled. Hela would make a wonderful queen.

"Of course, dear." the woman responded as she finished making Hela's hair look absolutely perfect. "Now you are all ready. Go wait in the common room with the boys." With this, Hela nodded and went to the common room. There she found her brothers already waiting, looking dashing in their formal armor. They grinned when they saw her and commented on how nice she looked in her flowing green and black dress. When she walked, it looked as if she were gliding. A few moments later, their parents appeared in full armor. Their children rarely saw Sigyn wear armor and they were in awe at how regal she seemed. As ever, they loved to see Loki in his helmet. They considered those large, golden goat horns to be a family emblem.

"Come, children." Loki directed and he and Sigyn took Hela's hands and made there way to the royal ball room, the sons following closely behind, walking in synchronized step (though not consciously). When they arrived, the guests looked around at them in fascination. Loki and Sigyn came forth and presented Hela to Odin, bowing down on one knee on either side of the young woman. The AllFather gave a small smile and with a knock of Gungnir, all was quiet. People looked up at the king curiously, wondering what was going on.

"Hela Lokidottir, you have grown into a mature, responsible woman and honored your father's name time and time again. None here would question that of all Asgardians, you are the most in tune with the cycle of life, particularly the subject of death. Niflheim is in need of a new ruler and you have exemplified ever quality needed of someone who could be its queen. Will you accept the position?" Hela could feel Loki tensing at this, but she did not falter.

"I accept." she said confidently in her smooth, wispy voice.

"Very well. Then by the power invested in me as King of Asgard, I proclaim thee Queen of Niflheim." As the AllFather spoke, a guard holding a large, dark violet pillow with a golden helmet upon it stepped forward. Odin took it by the enormous horns zigzagging out from either side of it and placed it on Hela's head. The hall erupted in applause and the dark haired woman bowed to Odin. Loki and Sigyn stood up after letting go of their daughter's hands and smiled with a sad pride. There was suddenly and growing crowd of nervous young men around the three and Loki's emerald orbs narrowed.

"Queen Hela, would you honor me with a dance?" one of the more confident warriors asked. Loki glared at him instantly.

"You are forgetting this is her coming of age ball. Tradition states that her first dance is with me. Whether she chooses to accept your request after that is for her to decide." the Trickster said with a slightly mocking sternness. Hela cast her father a looked that said 'you don't have to be like that, I'm a big girl now' and he grinned before guiding her to the dance floor. The music started and they glided daintily about. Narfi observed his sister and father from afar, standing awkwardly next to Nörvi, who looked very pretty in her midnight blue gown, but he was too shy to say anything.

"You must be very proud of your sister." the girl commented in an attempt to break the silence between them.

"Oh, yes, I suppose." From this, Nörvi could tell Narfi was sad about Hela's appointment.

"You do not wish her to leave. You are going to miss her." Narfi was surprised at how observant the girl was and this came across, making her blush.

"She understands me better than most. When I was smaller, she could know exactly how I was feeling just by looking at me and touching my arm." He didn't know why he was choosing to discuss this with Nörvi, but as always, it just slipped out.

"I see." Something in the warmth of the smile she was giving him made something occur to Narfi. Once again, his brain went on autopilot and he reached out to take her hand, kissing it.

"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Nörvi. Would you care to dance?" he said and though he was merely being playful and friendly as he always was with his dear friend, the sudden jolt of unfamiliar emotion when she blushed and let out a small giggle in response felt so very different.

"I would be honored."

On the other side of the dance floor, Vali spied his little brother and Eir's daughter twirling about and he smirked.

"What are you so amused about, love?" Bryn asked, noticing the expression on Vali's face as he gazed over her shoulder. The dark haired young man laughed and shook his head.

"Nothing, Bryn. I merely lost a bet with myself."

"And what was this bet over?" the elf inquired, raising her golden eyebrows in amusement.

"Oh, I said to myself 'I bet Narfi will not even have the courage to ask Lady Nörvi to dance.' It looks as if I was wrong." At this, Bryn glanced over and sure enough, the youngest of Loki's sons was dancing with Lady Nörvi.

"I never would have thought it possible. Shy little Narfi. What a surprise." The two laughed and kept dancing, ignoring how the Aesir nobles seemed to be glaring at them in disapproval. Vali caught sight of Hela trying to decide who to dance with amongst the fair number of young men asking her. Never in her whole life had boys given her this much attention. Perhaps it had only just caught on that she possessed a terrifying beauty and people had shied away from it before because of her unusual white eyes, but now that she was a queen, the male population seemed to have been knocked out of its daze. It seemed Hela could finally forget about Dvalnin, the Imaginary Boyfriend.

Off in the corner, Fenrir and Jörmungandr could be observed not looking particularly happy. Not a single woman seemed willing to talk to them let alone dance with them, and on top of it all, their sister was going to have to leave and rule Niflheim.

**A/N: ...and there you have it. As you can imagine, the next chapter will have to do a great deal with Fenrir and Jörmungandr. I hope Narfi didn't steal the show from Hela in this chapter, but I had to vent some Narfi feels. Anyway, please let me know what you think. Thanks! ~T.Z.**


	9. Reputation

**A/N: I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for how long it took me to update. I had the world's worst writer's block for what felt like forever. I hope I didn't lose any readership. I love you guys and really hope this makes up for my failure. It's the longest chapter I've uploaded thus far and it's jam-packed full of angst and anti-Odin feels. Please R&R.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains fantasy violence, angst, and Odin being the King of Assholegard.**

Reputation

With Hela gone, Loki's household was considerably less cheery, particularly on her triplet brothers' end of things. Neither of them much liked to talk anymore and their parents grew worried for them. Narfi managed to keep Jörmungandr from growing too isolated by engaging him in a safe game of 'make a poison and I'll find an antidote for it', but Fenrir spent all of his time at the arena trying to gain fame, away from his family. When Vali wasn't studying, he would go and watch Fenrir, but Sigyn insisted that he go with someone, for fear that he would get in a fight himself. On one occasion, the only person willing to go with the young sorcerer was Tyr, and Vali complained to himself the whole way to the arena. Why did he have to go with an adult? He was sixteen. He could handle himself perfectly fine. Besides, it was awkward going with Uncle Tyr. Vali barely knew the man. For that reason, the teen marginally ignored Tyr and leaned on the edge of the pit wall, waiting for Fenrir to appear. Moments later, the announcer's voice boomed out and Vali grinned.

"And now, for the next match, Yldor the Sting challenged by Fenrir, Prince of Wolves." Vali chuckled at his brother's title, amused at how showy it was. A moment later, the smile was wiped from his face as he saw Yldor entire the arena. The man was large, muscular, mean, and carried a nasty looking sword. Then Fenrir came out, holding his arms up as if the crowd was cheering for him. A little ways away, Vali could hear people who were asking who this guy was and why didn't he have a weapon, restoring the teen's smirk. This was Fenrir's first battle in the big pit, where he might actually make a real name for himself.

"Hello there, my dear brutish friend." Fenrir greeted his opponent calmly.

"Shut your yapper and draw your weapon...if you even remembered to bring it." Yldor barked mockingly. It was a horrible sound, but Fenrir didn't even bat an eye.

"How vulgar. Well, if you must know, I have no need of a weapon. In fact, you may lack so much intelligence, that I may only have to trick you into falling on your own sword without ever striking a blow myself." the fur clad young man replied. Vali laughed, knowing this was a common tactic his brother used. Presenting himself as a posh pushover and then making a complete fool out of his opponent.

"I said shut up, you fancy little prince."

"Oh, I am _so_ offended and enraged." Fenrir rolled his yellow-green eyes sarcastically, crossing his arms. Yldor let out a roar and made a swipe at him with his blade, but he merely ducked out of the way. Transforming into an enormous wolf, he lunged at the warrior's now exposed torso, grabbing him in his jaws and flopping him to the ground. Yldor let out a cry of surprise and pain, but still manage to knock Fenrir on the head with the pommel of his sword, cause the wolf the to release him. However, Fenrir did not back down and he instead grabbed his enemy by the leg and sharply flipped him. Frustrated and in pain, Yldor pressed a gem on the hilt of his sword and the blade began to glow with heat.

"They don't call me the Sting for nothing." he hissed before managing to swat Fenrir in the side with the flat of his blade. The searing pain caused the wolf to whimper and jump away, but he shook it off and turned back to Yldor, growling. The large man charged with a heavy swing and Fenrir evaded him. It went on like that for some time and Vali could see that both Yldor and the crowd were growing tired of his elder brother's games, but then Fenrir ducked between his opponent's legs and turned to tackle the warrior from behind, sinking his fangs into the back of his neck. After a moment, Yldor grew still and Fenrir was declared the winner. The crowd looked thoroughly shocked and Vali cheered loudly. His brother saw him and as he transformed back to normal, he grinned at him. As he gave the crowd a bow, he gritted his teeth to the pain of the burn in his side. Vali saw this and went to meet Fenrir, slipping away from Tyr. The teen found his older brother in a passageway looking none too healthy, but when he saw Vali, he smirked.

"Easy victory, eh, brother?" he wheezed.

"We should get you to Narfi. He can treat that nasty burn of yours." Vali replied sternly.

"Oh, this thing? No need to worry. I will be alright. Besides, where is Uncle Tyr? I thought he was with you."

"Never mind that. There is magic in that wound. I can sense it. It is spreading and if you do not have it tended to soon, any pain you are feeling now will double." Vali pressed with a grimace, knowing Fenrir was just trying to defend his pride, but he wasn't fooling anyone. The tousle haired man finally nodded in acceptance and they started back to find Tyr. However, they were stopped by a scruffy, stocky man flanked by two thugs.

"Hey, you, pretty boy. You cost me my best warrior."

"Pft, please. I only maimed him a little. He is alive." Fenrir sneered, rolling his eyes.

"He's paralyzed! He'll never be able to fight again. I am not about to take that sitting down. I demand payment!"

"If it is money you seek, I assure you that is no issue." Vali interjected, attempting to settle this before things got ugly. Unfortunately, Fenrir wasn't keen to let it go and the man was apparently not so interested in money.

"I'm gonna need a lot more than money to make up for this loss. I can't easily find another like Yldor."

"Right, because stupid, lowlife brutes are in _such_ short supply." At this, Vali glared at his brother, wishing Fenrir wasn't impulsively sarcastic.

"Brother, please, do not provoke these men." the younger sibling hissed, but he was not heard because one of the thugs was busy pinning Fenrir by his neck against the wall. The shapeshifter simply started laughing and Vali swore under his breath.

"What's so funny, wolf?" the stocky man growled. "You think you're above us? You think you're so clever? Don't think I don't know who you are. You're just like your father. A coward prince who talks big but is just a runt in the litter."

"Excuse me." They turned to Vali to see the teen holding two daggers of lime green magic, his eyes glowing. "You have threatened my brother and insulted my father. I suggest you leave now before I lose my morality and kill you."

"Haha, this little sorcerer punk thinks he can take us!" At this, Vali didn't hesitate to throw one of his blades into the shoulder of the thug holding Fenrir. The other thug took a swing at him, but he ducked and cut into his attacker's arms. At first, it just seemed like he had only nicked him, but then the man's arms went limp. Then Vali turned to the stocky man and summoned a ball of green flame in his hand.

"I do want to have to hurt you. Leave or I will burn you like your prized warrior burned my brother." Vali threatened and the man now looked actually scared, nodding fervently to show that he was agreeing to back off. However, before he could even get a chance to turn around, Fenrir pounced at him in his wolf form, clamping his jaws on the man's arm and tossing him at the wall.

"Who is the coward now? Do not think for a second I would not be willing to kill you." Fenrir growled and Vali hissed at him that they should go themselves. The wolf grudgingly agreed and they walked away, leaving their attackers to nurse not only their wounds, but also their pride. Almost as soon as they rounded the corner, the brothers ran into Tyr, who was looking worried.

"I have been searching everywhere for you. Do not sneak off like that. It is not safe." the man scolded. "And you, young man," he pointed at Fenrir, "need to get that burn looked at."

"Please do not speak of this to mother. She would never let me fight in the arena again."

"You have my word." Tyr replied with a smirk and the two grinned back at him gratefully.

* * *

"Brother, why must you be so reckless? I cannot keep patching you up every time you get hurt and be expected to keep this from mother." Narfi said sternly as he applied ointment to Fenrir's burn.

"I enjoy fighting. It lets me forget about my problems for a while and helps me get my name out there." the elder brother replied defensively. "If mother knew that I get hurt doing it, she would ban me from the arena."

"Come now, mother is not that naïve. She knows you get hurt. You just do not wish her to see the extent of your hurt as you are always getting unsightly and potentially life threatening injuries." This was as accurate as it got and Fenrir frowned without saying another word on the subject. Narfi finished applying a bandage to his brother's burn before speaking again. "There you are. Now please do not go thrill seeking for a while. I cannot always be there to patch you up." With this, Fenrir went off, mumbled to himself about condescending brothers.

"My, my, you are talkative today, little brother." Vali piped up, raising his eyebrows. Narfi let out a heavy sigh and turned to his full brother, allowing him to make a deduction from his body language. "Ah, bad day. Care to share?"

"I have somehow managed to upset Nörvi. She said I would rather spend my day caring for the sick and injured than be with my friends and family and then went off crying when I said my social life is not as important as the health of Asgard."

"Oh, dear. It sounds like she feels you do not value the time she spends with you." Vali observed with a laugh.

"That is absurd. I value ever moment I have with her. She is a dear friend and I enjoy talking to her far more than I enjoy healing children's scraped knees, but I must put others before myself. It is important that Asgard's healers are able to quickly and efficiently deal with a large line of patients. If that means spending my whole day in the Healing Room, then so be it."

"If you want to do something selfless, consider Nörvi's feelings." With this, Vali turned and left. Narfi stared after him, wearing a frown.

* * *

"Fenrir is becoming dangerous. We have to do something before he snaps and goes on a killing spree." Odin spoke concernedly to Tyr. The dark haired man closed his eyes and replied in an even tone.

"Are you saying he needs to be killed?"

"Of course not! All other things aside, the boy is my grandson. No, he needs to be bound at least until his rages cool down." Odin explained. Truth be told, he wasn't all that fond of Fenrir, but as he had said, the young man was his grandson.

"And how do you plan to do that? He is clever like his father."

"He trusts you now, does he not? Present him with a test of strength. If he can break from his fetters, we will simply make new, stronger ones until he is unable to free himself."

"And what of Loki? Surely he will protest." Tyr questioned sternly. He had no doubt that should his elder brother find out about this plot against Fenrir, he would put a stop to it by any means necessary.

"We must take great care to keep this from him for as long as we can. A distraction must be provided."

"Such as?" Tyr was not one for intrigue. That had always been Loki's area of expertise and the idea that they were trying to play the player made the warrior very uneasy. So many things could go wrong and they had no way of determining whether or not Loki was clever enough not to be fooled.

"I have arranged for Lady Sigyn to be kidnapped on her upcoming trip to Alfheim." the AllFather explained, sounding slightly displeased with his own words. He did not want any harm to come to Sigyn, but there was no way he could persuade her to not only deceive her husband, but also betray her step-son willingly. Tyr didn't like it either, but being ever the one for answering duty's call, he would do what Odin asked of him without hesitation. "The bindings with which you are to capture Fenrir will be provided to you soon." Odin added, making it clear that his conversation with Tyr was over. The young man bowed and left the throne room without protest.

* * *

Watching Sigyn leave for Alfheim was not pleasant for Loki. Something in his gut told him she was walking into danger, but he suppressed this feeling as much as he could. His wife could handle herself and besides, Alfheim was not a hostile realm to Asgard. If she got into any trouble, the elves would not hesitate to help her. On top of that, this was a simple diplomacy mission meant to keep Asgard and Alfheim up to date with each other, which is by no means a high stakes task. Still, Loki would have liked to have sent Ikol with her, but the magpie was busy watching over Narfi, who was far more likely to be in danger. None of the children seemed to be worried about their mother, which was a comfort, but still did not quash his anxieties.

Then one evening when Loki was reading in his study alone, a hawk flew by the open window and practically flung a small scroll onto his desk. Heart racing, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was, he opened it and read:

_Prince Loki of Asgard,_

_ We have captured Lady Sigyn. Give yourself up to us or she will die. Come alone or she will die. No tricks. Hurry._

_ -X_

As he read this, fear and pure primal rage roiled up inside him. The prince could think of nothing but destroying Sigyn's kidnappers. They would pay for everything they did to her. Without hesitation, he stormed out of his tower, calling to Vali that he'd be out for a little while. When he reached the Bifrost, Heimdall didn't say anything and just opened the bridge. Moments later, the prince was in Alfheim, tracking his wife's captors.

* * *

"Hello, Fenrir. How are you?" The young man looked up from his position under an ash tree to see Tyr standing before him. He let out a groan in response. "Bored, are we?"

"Very. For some odd reason, I have been banned from fighting in the arena again. Now I have nothing to do." The warrior could tell from this that his nephew was getting restless and there was a mischievous look in the young man's eyes that he did not like.

"You pride yourself in your strength, yes? You want fame, yes?" Fenrir sat up at this, his yellow-green eyes brightening.

"Greatly."

"Then I believe I have something for you to do. Prove your strength and break from Asgard's strongest beast fetters." Tyr told him with a smirk. Fenrir laughed and sprang to his feet.

"Child's play, but I accept." With that, Fenrir followed his uncle to the royal vault where he transformed into a wolf and a group of guards fastened metal bands and chains to him. Once they were done, they stepped back and the wolf busted free practically effortlessly. Tyr clapped, smiling pleasantly before ordering Fenrir to be bound by the next strongest chains. Again, the enormous wolf had only to flex his muscles and pull to bust them. "This is supposed to be a challenge for me?" Fenrir laughed mockingly. It was a frightening sound coming from such a large wolf.

"If you think it so easy, than why not test your strength against something different. This golden rope." Tyr said, holding up a thin, golden rope that shimmered in the fire light. Fenrir laughed for a moment but then stopped upon realizing his uncle was serious. He then took a closer look at the rope and noticed how it glowed softly. It was magical and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Come now, surely you can break this if you are so strong and if you cannot, we will set you free." The wolf thought heavily on this for a moment. He knew he should be cautious of enchanted objects that appear to be harmless, but his pride and thirst for fame got the better of him.

"Very well, but you must put your hand in my mouth." he replied finally. "As...insurance." Tyr smiled and nodded, setting his left hand in Fenrir's jaws as the guards tied the wolf down with the rope. When they were done, he began to struggle, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not break free. Frustrated and angry, he growled. "Very amusing, Uncle Tyr. You bound me with an unbreakable magic rope. Now let me free." At this, Tyr made to withdraw his hand from Fenrir's mouth, but the wolf quickly realized they had no intention of freeing him and he bit down hard, severing Tyr's hand. The warrior cried out in pain and clutched his arm as the magic rope extended up and coiled around Fenrir's muzzle, preventing him from speaking or snapping at his captors. He struggled and struggled desperately, but to no avail. Tyr and the guards quickly fled and the wolf was left to wallow in his frustration and deep feeling of betrayal.

* * *

It was dark and far from any elven settlement when Loki finally found his wife in the forest. She lay on the ground with her limbs bound and her mouth gagged. It was clear that her bindings were enchanted to prevent her from using magic. She was covered in cuts and bruises, but she was awake and when she caught sight of Loki, her eyes grew wide and then shifted to look at something behind him. He turned around to see three figures dressed from head to toe in black.

"Let her go." the prince's voice was commanding, yet the disguised figures did not seem at all frightened by him. It didn't bother him, since he was confident that they would make a mistake any second now and find themselves very much dead.

"We are not stupid. If we let her go, you will both be able to fight us. No, we shall have a proper exchange." At this, another figure appeared and held a dagger to Sigyn's throat. "Give yourself up now, or her blood will soak this earth."

"Oh, you are stupid. So very, very stupid." Loki was laughing now and his enemies appeared quite unnerved by it. "You have already lost." They had not seen the tendril of green magic take out the one who had been holding the blade to Sigyn's throat and by the time it came to their attention, the woman was free and blue magic was winding down her arms and around her hands, ready to be blasted at her former captors.

* * *

"It has been done?"

"Yes, father." Tyr replied with a small bow.

"Good. Now there is the matter of his brother, Jörmungandr. Something must be done about him. I have reason to believe he was the source of the poison that killed the head of that noble family last week. Send out a group of warriors and have him captured. Be careful, my son, he too is a powerful shapeshifter." Odin instructed and Tyr gave him a warrior's salute before hurrying off to do the AllFather's bidding. Truth be told, he wanted nothing to do with this business, despite having his own reasons to hold no particular love for Loki's illegitimate children. However, there was no arguing with Odin. Lately, the young man had been the one to do all of his father's dirty work, perhaps because he was not one to spill secrets, but never the less, it was not his ideal situation.

Prince Tyr went to the barracks and summoned a large group of warriors, giving them Odin's orders.

"You are to find and arrest Jörmungandr Lokison. Search the city. He is most likely either in Loki's tower or the royal library. Now go." Without asking any questions or being hesitant in any way, they left. None of them had any qualms about going after a Son of Loki. In fact, some of them were eager.

What they didn't know was that Jömungandr was three steps ahead of them. He had seen what had happened in the vault to Fenrir and figured out what was going on. He had to escape Asgard, because the invisibility spell he was using was not going to last for very much longer and there was no way he could hide from Odin's forces for long without being able to constantly maintain the spell. Perhaps since Heimdall knew he was innocent of the crime they accused him of, he would allow him passage through the Bifrost. Seeing no other way, the young man snuck through the streets of Asgard, carefully avoiding guards and the warriors he knew were looking for him, making his way to gates of the Bifrost bridge. He was nearly there, when suddenly, he could seen himself beginning to reappear. Quietly cursing to himself, Jörmungandr bolted for the gates, putting him in the sunlight and making him very visible to the men guarding his path. He transformed into an enormous snake and busted through before they could lift their axes. The young man morphed back, making himself a smaller and faster target again.

"Heimdall!" he called in a desperate voice, though he knew that the gatekeeper was aware of the situation, so calling to him was a pointless waste of energy, but he couldn't help it. His thin, long legs moved as quickly as he could make them, but the warriors were still catching up behind him and the Bifrost was a _very_ long bridge. The lanky man soon grew tired and his pace slowed. There was only one option left to him now if he did not wish to be captured. Stealing himself, Jörmungandr ran off the bridge and dived headfirst into the dark and choppy waters below. The men who had been chasing him stopped at the point where he had jumped and looked into the sea. The young man was nowhere to be found and thus they presumed that he had committed suicide. They relayed this news to Odin and the king sat on his throne, genuinely saddened that it had come to that. What was he going to tell his son, Loki? It was going to be hard enough with Fenrir's imprisonment hanging over his head. He would simply have to tell Loki that Jörmungandr had jumped to his death for unknown reasons.

* * *

A few hours after the shapeshifter had taken his dive off the Bifrost, Loki returned to Asgard, holding Sigyn closely to him. She was shaken by what had happened in Alfheim. Loki had killed the people who had hurt her without hesitation. It was comforting that he had come for her so quickly, but she could not say she enjoyed watching her husband kill.

When they arrive home, they found Vali and Narfi in the common room looking like they were about to be sick.

"What is wrong? What has happened?" Loki demanded, rushing up to them, Sigyn at his side.

"Fenrir has been tide down in the royal vault in his wolf form." Vali said slowly, as he did not believe it.

"And Jörmungandr has...has jumped off the Bifrost." Narfi added quietly. Loki and Sigyn just stared for a long moment, trying to register what they had just been told. The blond turned white as a sheet and fell to her knees. The prince felt as if he'd been kicked in the stomach and rage boiled up inside him once again.

"My sons, please take care of your mother. I need to have a word with our dear king." With this, the green eyed man turned on his heel and walked out. What seemed like moments later, he was storming into the throne room, glaring intently at his father. "Why did you have my son bound? What has he done?"

"Calm yourself, Loki. He will be released the moment he is no longer a danger to those around him." Odin replied tranquilly.

"What. Has. He. Done." The dark haired man's voice was quieter now, but it held twice as much anger as before. The king let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Fenrir is unable to control himself. He lashes out at everyone."

"I will not stand for this. Binding him will to nothing to calm him."

"There is nothing you can do." At this point, Loki could see that nothing he said would sway his father, so the trickster buried his fury and stared back at Odin with a cold expression.

"Very well." he said curtly before bowing and leaving the throne room. He knew the charges against his eldest son were just an excuse. It seemed that all of Asgard had been eager to lock away Fenrir from the beginning and it hurt Loki on a very personal level. Then there was the matter of his other eldest son. He'd been avoiding thinking of him since he had heard the news, but now he could avoid it no longer and he could feel himself break a little inside.

The prince returned home soon and Sigyn was still in the common room with Vali and Narfi. It looked as if she had been crying and she had her arms around the boys, who were visibly grief stricken themselves. To their knowledge, nothing had been wrong with Jörmundgandr. Sure, he had been upset over his father's name constantly being sullied and his sister's absence, but not to the point where he'd resort to ending his life...right? Perhaps there had been something else going on that they had not known about. They had been aware that his study of poisons was attracting unwanted attention, but he never sold his poisons to others. In fact, he meticulously made sure no one could get their hands on them. Something was very suspicious about all this, Fenrir's imprisonment, Jörmungandr's supposed death, and Sigyn's kidnapping. It was too much of a coincidence that they had all happened on the same day. Loki could see that now. Why would Odin do this to him? Feeling overwhelmed, the prince approached what was left of his family and threw his arms around them. None of them said anything or moved again for a long while.

* * *

Many weeks later, Loki's family was still struggling to return to normal life. The tower seemed emptier than ever with all of the triplets gone. Jörmungandr's body was never found, which convinced Loki that he was alive somewhere, exiled from Asgard. He confronted Odin again and the AllFather confessed what had happened with Jörmungandr. He assured his son that he had never meant for the boy to die and admitted that he was mourning as well. When Loki asked if Sigyn's abduction had anything to do with his sons, Odin admitted that it was a ploy to keep the trickster away while Fenrir and Jörmungandr were locked up because he had known Loki would object, but he had never intended for Sigyn to be harmed. He had hoped that Loki would understand, but his son's anger with him was beyond reason. For a long while afterward, he refused to speak with Odin. In fact, he refused to leave his tower or see anyone but his wife and sons. However, a month later, Thor forced his way into Loki's study to inform him that Jörmungandr was alive, living in the seas on Midgard, but could not come home. This mended relations between the brothers and Loki began to try and find a way to forgive his father (at Thor's insistence).

Even at the news that their older brother was alive, Vali and Narfi still had difficulty dealing with his absence and the circumstances that had brought it about. Fortunately, Vali had Bryn to confide in and with her help, he was able to keep from falling into depression. However, Narfi had only further isolated himself by throwing himself into his work harder than ever. He would leave the tower at the crack of dawn and return late at night looking ready to collapse from exhaustion. It went on like that for some time until one day, Nörvi noticed and stopped avoiding him in protest of his ignoring her when he was working (which was pretty much always).

"Narfi?" she said softly as she approached his desk one evening. He did not look up, but this did not discourage the young girl. "I heard about what happened to your older brother. I am sorry." Still, this did not evoke a response. Narfi continued to work intently on his note taking and didn't even seem to notice that she was there. "And...I am sorry for treating you like I have been. It was childish and hurtful and I know you mean well." she went on, watching the boy carefully for any sort of reaction. That was when she noticed the sad look in his blue-gray eyes. He was depressed and in pain because he was keeping his emotions to himself, feeling it better that he not put his burden on other people. He obviously wanted to talk to her, but was restraining himself behind a cold mask to protect her. Nörvi came closer and placed her hand on his arm, which caused him to pause in his writing and clench his other hand into a fist. "I really admire that you put everyone else before yourself. If more people were as selfless as you, we would live in a much more honorable world. I just...I just wanted to say that if you ever need to talk to someone...about anything at all...you can talk to me. I will always help you in whatever way I can." With that, the dark haired girl turned to leave, but Narfi grabbed her hand. He was looking at her now, locking his stormy gaze with hers.

"I am sorry, Nörvi. Please do not go." the young healer said, his voice full of guilt and sorrow. Nörvi quickly embraced her friend and was surprised when he began crying.

"Tell me what it is that torments you so." she replied and he told her everything from the war to Jörmungandr's exile. He had never willingly gone to his parents with these things, knowing they already had enough to worry about without having to deal with him. It was nice to have someone he could share his pain with and little did he know that Nörvi had made her own very special place in his heart simply by offering to listen.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry if I made Tyr look like a total bastard. I was trying to portray him as sort of just a soldier doing his duty. Also sorry for the overall poor quality of the chapter. I feel like things jumped around a lot and I slipped with my ability to write these characters. I hope I gave you Narfi/Nörvi feels at the end here. I'm thinking of writing the next chapter about Vali and Bryn and Narfi's evolving friendship with Nörvi. What do think? Please let me know. Thanks! ~T.Z.**


	10. A Special Place

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for the slow update. I just finished exams. Anyway, please R&R. I love you all. Reviews make me smile.**

A Special Place

With everything that had been happening in the past year, Vali and Narfi began to suspect that they were not as safe in the palace walls as they thought they were. The only time they felt truly safe was when they were in the presence of someone they trusted, particularly their parents or each other. The bond between the brothers was growing even tighter because of it all.

One night, when Vali was sure their father was asleep, he stole a spellbook from his personal library and went to Narfi's room, knowing his younger brother would still be up studying. As soon as Narfi read the title of the book, _The Power of Blood and How to Use It_, he frowned. What was Vali up to? This was one of the books Loki had forbidden them to read. It dealt in very ancient, very dangerous magic and Narfi knew all too well about the use of blood in magic. He didn't like were this was going. Still, he watched curiously as his elder brother flipped through the yellowing pages until he found what he was looking for. He held up the book so that Narfi could read the spell.

"This is exactly what we need." Vali said excitedly as Narfi's eyes widened.

"'Pact of the One Life'? Vali, are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am sure about this! I have thought it over extensively. You are my brother and closest friend. If you die, I die. Here." Vali took two identical amulets from his pocket. They were beautifully made with a single emerald hanging from a silver chain. "They are elf make and perfect for what we need." He handed one to Narfi and the younger brother chuckled.

"Bryn made these. You really did think this through carefully."

"Naturally." Vali replied with a grin. "So, what say you? Shall we?" For a moment, Narfi did not answer and just stared between the book, his brother, and the amulets with an expression of uncertainty. If they performed this spell, they would each know when the other was in trouble, but they would have to share each other's pain and fear. Would that include Narfi's frequent anxieties which he only shred with Nörvi upon her insistence? He did not want Vali to think he was afraid or in danger all the time and have to suffer because of it. Still, he did not want to give up the chance to be able to come to his brother's aid should he require it. Making up his mind, the younger brother nodded and took a bottle of golden ink from his tunic pocket. It was an ink used to draw magic marks on surfaces for the purpose of performing rituals. It was designed to evaporate once the spell was cast and did not leave any traces of magic behind so that no one had to know that a spell was even cast.

Removing one of his dark gloves and dipping a finger into the ink, Narfi drew the pattern from the illustration in the book on the floor between them. Vali placed the amulets in the center of the golden markings and drew a simple obsidian knife from his belt. With it, he made a deep gash in his palm, only flinching a little, before handing the blade off to Narfi. The younger brother removed his other black glove and made a deep gash in his palm as well and they clasped their hands together over the amulets, letting their blood mix and then drip profusely onto the amulets below.

"Let fluid of life combine, let the chains of fate bind, for in blood is made a brother, and in destiny made sure to suffer. Two minds, two hearts, one life. Two minds, two hearts, one life..." they chanted in unison and the blood began to seep into the amulets. The gold markings began to glow brighter and brighter until finally they burst into flame and vanished, leaving nothing behind but the amulets, the emeralds winking at the brothers in the candle light. Narfi healed their gashes and took one of the amulets, putting it around his neck and tucking it inside his tunic. It was an unspoken agreement that they would not display these or speak of them to anyone else.

* * *

Even though the public had a much higher opinion of Vali and his little brother than they did of the triplets, the two still got nasty looks now and again from people who simply despised anyone who had Loki's blood flowing in him. Vali generally had to deal with more scrutiny than Narfi not only because of his habit of challenging people to duels and fiercely defending Loki's reputation, but also because he had an elven girlfriend. Asgardians didn't generally hold any sort of grudge against Alfar unless one had been rude to them before. That is, until one of them started to be romantically involved with an Asgardian. Then it was positively scandalous.

Vali loved Bryn dearly and nothing anyone ever said could make him think that he shouldn't be with her. She loved him too and had gotten permission to keep studying in Asgard partially because she wanted to stay with Vali and partially because her father was still fuming about her becoming involved with a Son of Loki and she didn't want to go home and face him. The occasional scorn of the Asgardians was preferable ten times over to the wrath of an elven sorcerer.

Vali's family had no objection to Bryn. In fact, they liked her very much. Sigyn almost thought of her as a daughter. Though he would never say it aloud, Loki very much approved of Vali's taste in women. Bryn was clever, pretty, and interested in magic. Perfect for his son. He and Sigyn did what they could to defend their son's choice, but Vali and Bryn still couldn't escape the nasty looks whenever they were in public. For that reason, they usually spent their time together away from the public eye. However, on occasion, they did sit together in places passersby could easily cast their disapproving gaze upon them, but only when they grew tired of their usual meeting places.

One afternoon, Vali and Bryn sat quietly, holding hands by the fountain in the palace courtyard. It was not long after the incident with Vali's elder brothers and the elf girl was there to comfort him. She didn't need to say anything. Just her being there was enough. Then a group of noblemen came by. They stopped and one of them pointed at the couple, smirking.

"Look, it is the Liesmith's son and his little scandal. If you ask me, the man's whole brood is rotten. Let us see...there is the mongrel...the assassin...the hag...this one, the Alf lover...and the coward." As Vali overheard this, he felt himself grow angrier and angrier. Bryn squeezed his hand, begging him to ignore the nobleman's words, but honor was in question and Vali could not let it go. He stood up and approached the man who had spoken.

"I do not take such insults lightly." he said through gritted teeth. The men laughed at him and he frowned.

"What do you plan to do about?"

"Fight me." he replied, as a long, thin rapier of green magic formed in his hand.

"You cannot be serious. You. A child." the man sneered. "Cannot hope to beat me, even with your magic."

"Prove it." Vali growled, the jibe about his age only serving to further his anger. Realizing the young man was serious, the noble drew his sword and his friends backed away.

"You are arrogant like your father, boy." the man hissed as he made a swing at Vali. The dark haired teen parried and whipped his rapier around so quickly that his opponent could not block him in time and created a long, thin, red gash down the man's cheek. Another swing. Vali dodged this time, whirling around to face his enemy's back and cutting off his cape. The noble turned around to pass his blade straight through Vali's abdomen. Vali evaporated and he stared in wide-eyed confusion. A contemptuous laugh came from behind him and before he could react, he found himself flat on his stomach on the ground, his Achille's tendons severed. Suddenly, he felt a foot on his back, pressing him down. "You have no honor. You struct down your opponent when his back was turned." he hissed.

"Honorable defeats are only granted to the honorable." Vali replied, the loathing clear in his voice. The nobleman closed his eyes in anticipation of a death blow, but none came. "I am not going to kill you. That would be too honorable. No, I am going to leave you hamstrung here to wallow in your humiliation, for that is what you deserve." The young man stepped off of his fallen foe and turned to walk away, allowing his rapier to dissipate.

"You are a freak! Just like the rest of Loki's spawn!" the noble yelled after him, but he only grimaced and took Bryn's hand before walking home with her at a swift pace.

A year later, another such incident occurred, but this time, Vali came out of it badly hurt and only barely victorious. He had challenged another sorcerer's apprentice. One that wanted to hurt Bryn. The clashing of their magic left notable marks of destruction to their surroundings. Narfi sensed the danger to his brother's life and came in time to heal him before he passed out from blood loss. Bryn had not interfered. Her skill was with alchemy and runes, not with battle magic. She would have only gotten hurt and she knew what that would do to Vali. However, she did help Narfi bring him home. He was in a bad way and barely awake when they lay him on his bed. Moments after Narfi had begun the process of treating all of his wounds, both Loki and Sigyn came bursting in.

"What happened?" Loki demanded, but he had only to look closely at the nature of his son's wounds to get his answer. He grimaced and looked to Bryn, noticing how shaken she was. She reminded him of how Sigyn was when he returned from war barely alive. "Who did this?" he changed his question. He wanted to know who had done this to his son.

"Rotn, apprentice to Taldr. Well..._formerly_." Bryn managed to say, reaching out and taking Vali's hand. He went to such great lengths to preserve the honor of those he loved. It was heartbreaking to watch, yet it only endeared him to her more.

"Bryn? Did I get him? Are you safe now, love?" Vali muttered, his barely open green eyes wandering to her. The elf girl could not bring herself to speak and only squeezed his hand.

"Quiet, brother. You need rest. Bryn is safe and you are home." Narfi said, closing up the last of Vali's injuries. Sigyn knelt down next to her eldest son and placed her hand on the side of his face, brushing his dark hair out of the way. She knew he would be alright, but still a part of her feared that she would lose another child. Loki left, saying that he needed to see Thor, looking quite displeased as he went. Narfi left as well, assured that his mother and Bryn would take care of Vali. He returned to his duties with the healers, trying to bury his concern for his brother. As he mended a child's broken wrist, Nörvi approached him, having just finished her own shift.

"You are worried about something." she observed, placing a hand on his shoulder. He nodded solemnly as he sent the boy he had healed on his way. "Will you tell me?"

"Do you know of Bryn of Alfheim?" Narfi asked, taking a deep breath to calm himself a little. Nörvi nodded. "A sorcerer's apprentice threatened her and Vali nearly got himself killed in a fight with him. My brother is growing reckless and it is bad for everyone." The anxiety was clear in his quiet voice and Nörvi gave him a sympathetic look. "I do not want him to suffer the same fate as my other brothers."

"You need some time off. I will speak with my mother."

"No. I cannot neglect my duties here."

"Narfi, trust me. You cannot keep going on like this. Take some time off. Mother will understand." At this, something suddenly clicked in Narfi's mind and he frowned.

"So that is why Lady Eir has been giving me such menial tasks of late. She thinks my abilities are being compromised by my personal life." He seemed almost offended and his hands clenched into fists. Standing up abruptly, Narfi walked swiftly to the door, intent on finding another patient to treat. However, Nörvi caught up to him and spun him around, putting her hands on either side of his face.

"Narfi, please! Let me help you! You cannot keep trying to be the epitome of selflessness. Especially not when you are hurting so much and it is hurting me just to watch you." He could see now that she was on the verge of tears and felt a pang of guilt pulling at his heartstrings. What was he supposed to do? He had not idea how he was supposed to react and he just stared at Nörvi. "Please, Narfi." She was very close to him now. "If you will not do it for yourself, do it for me." Their faces were inches apart and the dark haired teen felt his cheeks grow warm. He reached up a gently pulled her hands away from him. At first, she seemed to take this as a rejection of her pleas, but then he spoke.

"Go and speak with Lady Eir. If she will allow it, I will take leave of my duties here for a while." he said and the girl smiled, nodding happily before going off to talk to her mother.

* * *

Even while Vali was asleep, Bryn stayed at his bedside, holding his hand. He looked at peace in his sleep, happy even. The elf girl wished she could take him away from all his pain. He didn't deserve to be treated the way he was, but she knew he would never leave his family and she could see why. They loved him and cared for him and kept him safe when the rest of the world wouldn't.

"I told him not to let people get to him and make him display his anger, but now that I truly understand what happened, I can say that I would have done the same if a man said those things to Sigyn." a familiar voice said and Bryn looked up to see Prince Loki standing in the doorway. She was a little surprised, not having heard the man approach, but she replied calmly.

"Thank you, my lord."

"That being said, I want you to watch over my son. Please try to stop him from being rash in the future. He loves and trusts you. He will listen."

"Yes, my lord."

"Good." Loki said with a small smirk before turning and leaving. A little while later, Narfi showed up, sitting himself on the other side of Vali's bed. He said nothing for a long time and simply sat there with a brooding expression on his face. Bryn did not attempt to make conversation, knowing the younger brother wasn't much of a talker and probably would not appreciate being forced into dialogue, especially with how awkward things were between them. They shared a secret. Bryn had seen Narfi do something after he had come to his brother's aid that she knew he was ashamed of. She had promised him that she would never speak of it to anyone, but as Bryn looked at the guilt in his eyes now, she realized that her promise was of little consolation to him.

Narfi left without a word. He needed to see Nörvi. He had to tell someone.

It was dusk and Nörvi didn't recognize him at first because he wasn't wearing his healer's robe, but Narfi found her at the edge of the forest beyond the gardens and fell to his knees before he could reach her. She ran to him and he grabbed her shoulders, gripping them as if letting go would mean his death. His normally neatly combed hair was now in his eyes and he was breathing irregularly.

"Nörvi...there...there is something I did not tell you." the dark haired young man managed to say. Nörvi reached up and brushed the raven locks out of his eyes, revealing the torment in his stormy orbs. "I...I...I..." Narfi struggled to get out what he wanted to say, but the girl patiently waited for him to say it. "I killed someone. The man my brother fought with." For a moment, Nörvi was shocked, unable to believe that Narfi was capable of such a thing, but she kept her head.

"How did it happen?" she asked calmly.

"I do not know what came over me. I saw them both lying there, half-dead, and I just...it was like something turned off inside me. I could not bring myself to save the person who had hurt my brother. I turned my back on a dying man when I could have saved him." He could feel the tears coming now, but he did not want to cry in front of Nörvi again, so he held them back.

"Narfi, that is perfectly understandable. No one will think you did the wrong thing." It amazed her that he could feel guilty over the death of a vile man who had personally wronged him. She had never met anyone who valued life as highly as he did. "Think of how many lives you have saved. You have done more good in the short amount of time you have been alive than many can say they have in an entire eon. If one wretched man dies because he does not deserve your help, then it was the Fates that killed him and not you." Nörvi said, once again holding Narfi's face in her hands. His breath slowly returned to normal and in the dim light, she could see the look of comprehension on his face.

"You truly believe that?" he asked softly, his grip on her shoulders loosening considerably (in the back of his mind, he wondered if he had been hurting her). She smiled back at him as if it was a silly question.

"Of course. I would not have said it if I did not." she answered. "You are the kindest, most gifted person I have ever known. And quite attractive as well." The girl blushed at realizing what she had just said. "I-I mean-"

"Iaminlovewithyou." Narfi suddenly blurted out in an incoherent slur. He was now quite pink himself.

"Sorry, what?" Nörvi wasn't sure at all what he had just said, but it had sounded like something that made her stomach fill with butterflies. For a moment, Narfi struggled to repeat himself more slowly, but finally he got it out.

"I am in love with you." The words rolled off his tongue before he could think.

"Good." was all the dark haired girl could think to say before crashing her lips with his. Narfi let out a surprised groan and they both fell over. His brain seemed to go on autopilot as he began kissing her back.

* * *

It did not take long for Narfi's family to notice that he was much more cheerful than he used to be. Once Vali was back on his feet, he did a little investigating and quickly discovered that his brother had finally admitted to himself that he had romantic feelings for Eir's daughter. He felt like giving Nörvi applause for figuring out how to get Narfi to open up. Of course, Vali shared everything he had learn with his parents and Bryn, much to his little brother's embarrassment, but at least he could be more open about having a girlfriend now.

When news of what had happened with Vali spread through Asgard, the open insults seemed to disappear. Loki told him that he and Thor had had something to do with it, but he never explained how. Vali wasn't complaining and for a time, Loki's sons' only troubles were missing their elder siblings.

**A/N: I guess I should warn you that things are just going to get really depressing from here on out. For those of you who know the mythology, you know why. By the way, I created a tumblr blog for Vali and Narfi called vali-and-narfi-lokison. If you're interested, don't hesitate to check it out, even if you don't have a tumblr. Vali and Narfi need more love. Shameless advertising aside, I hope this chapter was up to snuff, even though there wasn't much Loki or Sigyn in it. Please review. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate every one that I get. Thanks! ~T.Z.**


	11. Bound in Blood

**A/N: I am really really sorry for keeping you all waiting for over a month. There were good reasons. For instance, a little thing called "T.Z. looks for a job and doesn't find one." I also have rewritten this chapter a couple of times because I felt it so important that this chapter be done right. I really want to bring you all something quality and thank you for being patient with me. Your reviews/favs/follows are all highly appreciated. Please enjoy this and forgive me for making you wait.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains angst, violence, tragedy, mythological references, twisted plots, and rhyming. Also, you might want to have either a box of tissues or a defibrillator on hand.**

Bound in Blood

When it came time for the feast that would celebrate Vali's coming of age, it became quickly apparent how much more loved Sigyn's sons were by the court than the triplets were. Aesir and Vanir gathered to congratulate him and give him gifts. Seeing this, an outsider would find it hard to believe that only a year ago, Vali's reputation had been on very thin ice. With the help of Loki, Thor, and Baldr (to a lesser extent), he had been saved from that. Baldr later told the young man that they had done it by painting Taldr and his late apprentice, Rotn, as scheming, ruthless rivals of Loki and Vali. It wasn't a lie. Taldr and Rotn had been intent on undermining their reputations. Compared to them, Loki looked like the epitome of fairness and good. All it had taken was a little investigation and proper timing in revealing the information. Of course, the latter had been Thor and Baldr's job because no one would have believed any of it if it had come out of Loki's mouth. Still, treatment of the man himself was improving. Of course it helped that he had forgone mischievous activity for a while, knowing it would destroy everything he had worked for for his sons.

As the prince sat at his son's feast, he glanced next to him at his wife and noticed that for once, she didn't have deep worry in her gray eyes. It was calming, especially since Sigyn was smiling brightly. On his other side sat Vali and on the young man's other side was Odin (as was custom). The AllFather was clearly making an effort to show his grandson kindness, knowing that the boy had lost much of his fondness for him due to what had happened to the triplets.

Loki turned his gaze to his other son, who sat across from him, holding Nörvi's hand and listening excitedly to whatever Forseti was going on about. A smile graced the prince's lips at this sight. He was glad that Narfi seemed happy and without troubles now. He knew it had something to do with Nörvi because Narfi had been this way since he'd begun his romantic relationship with her. From experience, Loki knew that love was a great healer of wounds. Perhaps Eir's daughter specialized in healing wounds that could be felt but not seen and that's how she had been able to find her way to Narfi's heart and fix it. In any case, Loki was grateful to the girl for what she had done for his youngest son.

The Trickster was shaken from his thoughts when Odin raised his goblet, signifying that he was going to toast to Vali. Loki quickly raised his own goblet as did the rest of the hall.

"To Vali Swordweaver, my grandson, now a man and one of honor." the AllFather called and the entire hall said Vali's name in unison and clanked their goblets together. The young man grinned and thanked Odin. Gifts were brought out and placed before Vali. From his parents, he received an intricate ring that would allow him to tame snakes. Lady Amora, always being one for giving Loki's children gifts of a magical and unexpected nature, gave Vali a clip for the strap of his shoulder guard that would grant him greater strength. From Narfi, the elder brother received a bracer that would emit a magic shield when a threatening object came his way. Sif presented him with a new set of ornate daggers that instantly made him grin. The young man got something from each member of the immediate royal family a collective gift from the Vanir court. When Bryn was asked why she had not given Vali something, she blushed brightly and replied softly that he was getting his present from her later.

The rest of the evening was as cheery as anyone could hope. By the time Loki and Sigyn went to turn in for the night, they were grinning joyfully, glad that nothing had gone wrong or been fake.

"The people love my sons." the blond said as she sat down on the bed. "They were hurting so much before and you worked so hard to bring them this. You are a good father, Loki, and I am proud to be your wife and their mother." The prince leered at her for this and came to sit next to her.

"Do not say such things, dear Sigyn. You will make it hard for me to leave for that council meeting in the morning." he whispered in her ear, causing her giggle before leaning in and kissing him.

"I am certain Odin and your brothers can do without you for one council meeting." she replied, grinning mischievously.

* * *

Late that night, Sigyn awoke shaking and breathing heavily. The image of a running Narfi was burned into her memory. Loki was holding her close, asking her softly to tell him what she had seen. The dream had been fuzzy and skipped around, but she told him everything that she could make out. He did not seem to know what it meant either. In the morning, when Loki had gone off, Sigyn took out her magic bowl and filled it with water. Then she pricked her finger, letting a few drops of blood fall into the bowl and swirl like smoke in the water. Leaning over, she whispered to it and let blue strands of magic flow from her fingertips and through the knot designs in the wood.

"Oh Norns so great and old, I have come with a question, if I may be so bold. Please tell me this and nothing more: What for my sons have you in store?" she said, being sure to phrase her request correctly. The Fates were not rewarding to those who did not know the proper way to call them.

For a long moment, nothing happened and Sigyn began to despair, but then the blood in the water began to form into words. They read cryptically (as expected) the following:

_First born to thee so loyal,_

_A Son of the Old Ways,_

_Is made to be a royal,_

_A prince in the coming days._

_He who is called Woundbane, _

_Could be like the Brave great, _

_For he takes away pain, _

_And is absent of Trickster's hate._

_Sad are flowers that only bud, _

_For their fate is bound in blood._

After the blood clouded again in the water, Sigyn didn't move for a long while. The last verse was stuck firmly in her mind. She hoped against all hope that it didn't mean what she thought it meant. Closing her eyes, the sorceress shook herself, trying to rid her mind of anxiety. She didn't need this. Not now when her family was so very happy. When she opened her eyes, she cleaned out her bowl, stowed it away and went to meet her sons in the dining hall for breakfast.

* * *

Even with the important issue they were discussing, Loki would much rather have been at home with his wife. For as long as he had been sitting at this table with his brothers and their father, he'd barely been able to get a word in edge wise. When he did, someone invariably disagreed with him.

"We must intervene and force both sides to peace." Thor said loudly, causing Loki to roll his eyes.

"Do not be so daft, Thor. Have you ever actually met the Dwarves? They are notoriously stubborn, thus their negotiation skills leave much to be desired." he put in, leaning back in his chair and scowling at his elder brother. "We must support the Alfar in putting down this arrogant and rash attack."

"We should do nothing." At these words, everyone's eyes turned to the only white haired brother, Baldr. "It is not our place to dabble in the affairs of either races." The younger brothers voiced their agreement with this. "If anything, getting involved would only hurt Asgard."

"Baldr is right. We cannot take a side lest we lose one or both of our invaluable trade agreements. Asgard would be weakened." Odin finally spoke, angering Loki with his words.

"But father, you know as well as anyone that the dwarf king will plow on in his blind hate until either the Alfar or his own people perish. We _must_ defend the elven people!" Loki insisted. Images of Vali and Bryn were at the forefront of his mind. He was defending not only the Alfar, but his own family because Bryn was a part of it too. Vali had recently told him that he was planning to ask the elf girl's hand in marriage. He could only imagine what the mere news of this war between the dwarves and elves would do to those he loved and he hoped that they hadn't heard yet while he still had a chance to sway Asgard to what he believed was the right choice.

"No, Loki. I know why you say that and you must put personal interests aside."

"I am not just saying that because of my connections to Alfheim! I am saying that because it is right and honorable!" Loki snapped. When he saw the look of shock on his brothers' faces, he sneered. "Oh, who knew Loki the Trickster would ever care about right and honor. Well, I shall have you know that I am not an amoral man! What I consider fun and what is corrupt and cowardly are two different things!"

"Calm yourself, brother." Baldr told him softly, but it only fueled the green eyed prince's fury.

"You have very interesting ideas for someone who claims the title 'Baldr the Brave', little brother! Oh, I forgot. It does not matter because anything you say will always be more popular than anything I ever do. You who are unconditionally loved by everyone, who never had to earn anyone's trust, will always be heard whilst I have my lips sewn shut by- oh, right- _a dwarf_." There was a venom in his voice that none could miss. Without another word, the second prince of Asgard got up from his seat and stormed out of the room. When he returned home, even the news that Vali and Bryn were officially engaged could not cheer him up. He only pretended to be cheery and excited for his family's benefit. He knew it was only a matter of time before they learned of the attack on Alfheim and everything would fall apart. It hurt, but there was nothing he could do. Odin would follow Baldr's suggestion and Alfheim would be plunged into a war that would take Vali and Bryn with it. Unfortunately, the prince was unable to keep up his façade of cheerfulness for very long. At the dinner table, he was forced to spill.

"Father, what is troubling you? You look...sad." Narfi spoke up after spending several minutes closely examining Loki's body language. When he looked back at his youngest son, he could not bring himself to lie. The smile dropped from his face. Everyone else at the table now had their attention on him and they were clearly concerned. He took a deep breath and answered.

"Today, at the council meeting," he paused to look over at Vali and Bryn, knowing this would the last moment before everything would change, "we discussed what Asgard's response should be to the attack on Alfheim by the Dwarves." He watched sorrowfully as the expressions of those he loved became grave, almost disbelieving. A silence fell over the room and Loki could not bring himself to break it.

"What will be Asgard's response, father?" Vali demanded softly after a while, locking his intense green gaze with Loki's own.

"Asgard will do nothing. As ever, your grandfather valued Baldr's counsel over mine. I insisted that we must defend the Alfar, but no one would listen." At this, Bryn's blue orbs began to glisten and Vali's jaw set in anger.

"I will speak to your king. I will beg him if I have to. My people cannot hold out against an army intended specifically to destroy us when we are most vulnerable. If Asgard does not stop this, then my people will burn!" Bryn proclaimed, standing up suddenly and clenching her hands into fists. The Asgardians were a little surprised by her fiery outburst and Loki had to admit he hadn't expected her reaction to be so passionate, but he knew no amount of gaul or passion would sway the AllFather in his decision.

"Dear Bryn, please be seated. There is nothing you can do. I am truly sorry." Loki told the elf calmly, gesturing for her to sit back down. After a moment, she listened to him and Vali took her hand.

"I will understand if you want to leave and aid your homeland. I will join you." the young man said.

"No, Vali. You cannot get involved. The moment the dwarves see an Asgardian fighting with the elves, Asgard will be put in danger." the prince shot back solemnly. Vali opened his mouth to protest, but his father stopped him. "If Bryn wishes to return to Alfheim and fight for her people, she must do it without you. I am sorry."

"It is alright, my love. From what I have seen, this realm needs as many good men as it can get. It does seem to lack quite a few." the elf said, much more calmly now. "I will leave soon for Alfheim."

"Very well."

* * *

The next day, news spread not of the war, but instead of nightmares that Baldr had had in which he had seen his death. Asgard was in uproar with concern for their favorite prince until Frigga called a banquet and demanded that everything and everyone be made to promise never to harm her son. When it was done, Loki went home as quickly as he could. He resented his little brother for being so loved and he knew that if he had been dreaming of his own death, Frigga would not have gone quite as far to help him as she had for Baldr.

"Everything has a weakness. Even a seemingly impervious spell on my dearly beloved brother would have a hole in it. One day, someone will find that hole and not I nor anyone will be there to save him." Loki said to Sigyn as he stood by the window in their bedroom. The blond wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Do not say such things, Loki." she said to him quietly as if she was afraid he meant his brother harm. He frowned and held her tightly to himself, stroking her long soft hair.

"Make no mistake. I love my little brother, but simply I grow weary of sitting in his shadow. It is the same with you and Nanna, is it not?"

"I know. I did not mean to imply you wish harm on Baldr. I was only referring to your mood."

"Forgive me, Sigyn. I have let my worries guide my tongue." Loki admitted. The woman responded in forgiveness by leaning up and kissing him gently.

"Narfi will be like Baldr. He will be loved by all who know him. I have seen it." Sigyn said after a while, reaching up to hold her husband's face in her hands and smiling. Both of them wanted desperately to believe that their sons were destine for greatness. It didn't matter to them that it was only hinted at on the edge of dreams.

* * *

That night, Baldr found his elder brother lurking moodily in the royal library. When he approached the sorcerer, he ignored him. It wasn't until the white haired man spoke that he got Loki's attention.

"Hello, brother. I want to apologize for upsetting you at the council meeting. Would you like to go hunting with me in the morning?" At this, Loki seemed a little surprised, as if he had never expected Baldr to be so kind to him.

"Of course, dear brother." he replied simply. Baldr hadn't expected him to be that concise. Perhaps his mood was making him less inclined to chatter. Taking that as his cue to leave, the younger brother bowed and left the library.

The next morning, the hunting party was gathered in Heimdall's observatory, ready to be taken to Vanaheim. For some reason, Baldr had invited Hodur the Blind, probably out of kindness and consideration, as always. Once they were walking along the forest paths of Vanaheim, someone had to be Hodur's guide.

"I will do it." Loki offered, taking the blind man by the wrist. When the others looked at him with raise eyebrows, he spoke again. "As a show of my forgiving mood." This satisfied them and they continued on, Hodur thanking Loki for his kindness. "Think nothing of it, my friend." The day pressed on and they succeeded in catching a giant boar, which Tyr carried to show off how strong he was with only one hand, despite Thor's protests because he had been the one to slay it.

"Come come, big brother. I am certain there are even bigger boars out there for you to slay." Baldr told the Thunderer cheerfully, hopping down from the large rock he was perched on and giving him a slap on the back. Thor laughed and they walked on, watching and listening for beasts of any sort. It wasn't long before Hodur stopped in his tracks and Loki with him. "Do you hear something, Hodur?" Baldr asked.

"Yes...a large creature to my left." Hodur replied, pointing towards the brush. The others looked where he was pointing and Loki grinned.

"I will help you aim your bow." the trickster said, handing the blind man a green tipped arrow. He took and set in against his bow, letting Loki's hands keep him steady and ensure he did not miss. "Fire." Loki whispered in his ear and he let the arrow go. Less than a second later, he heard a cry of agony as his arrow hit something and then fell to the ground. Suddenly, there was movement and shouting all around him.

"No! Baldr!"

"He is dead."

"No! It cannot be!"

"What has happened? Is something wrong? Did I hit the beast?" he asked frantically, waving his arms around because Loki was no longer there to guide him.

"You killed him! Our brother! How could you!" Thor bellowed and then Hodur understood and he felt sick.

"Oh no..." he muttered.

"It was not I that killed him, brother. Hodur was the one holding the bow. Hodur was the one who let the arrow fly." he heard Loki's sneering voice say. "It was simply an accident." Then came the sound of a fist connecting with someone's face and another body hitting the ground.

* * *

Sigyn smiled brightly as she saw her husband come into the common room of their tower and he returned her smile, coming to stand before her.

"Back so soon, my love?" she asked. Loki gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"Nanna told me you went hunting with Baldr. Did you slay something so big you could not carry it around for the rest of the day?"

"I did no such thing."

"What?"

"I never went hunting. I have been in our special place all day." Loki told her, a look of deep concern in his features. Then an expression of horror dawned on both their faces and they rushed out of the tower, heading for the Bifrost. As they reached the gates they were ambushed by guards.

"Prince Loki, you are under arrest for the murder of your brother, Baldr." one said as they tackled Loki and bound his hands together with magic inhibitors. He did not struggle. The last thing he needed was to fight back and look even more guilty than he already did.

"No! Let him go! He is innocent!" Sigyn cried, struggling against the guards restraining her.

"Sigyn, do not fight them. They will only hurt you in response. I have to go with them." Loki told her calmly as he was pulled roughly to his feet. The blond shook her head disbelievingly and as he was sharply pushed away from her and toward the palace, the sound of her struggling and screaming pulled very hard on his heart strings. When he heard the guards holding her knock her out, a tear fell down his cheek. "I am so sorry." he muttered.

* * *

Vali finished strapping on his last piece of armor with Bryn's help before pulling up his hood and tucking his amulet down his tunic.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Vali?" the elf girl asked him, holding the side of his face in her hand and stroking his cheek with her thumb. He placed his hand on top of hers and smiled reassuringly.

"I am to be yours. What kind of husband would let his wife fight for her people alone? Even if I go to my death, I would gladly meet it with you at my side." the dark haired young man replied.

"With you at my side, we will live and save Alfheim. You will be a hero and my father will not care that you are Asgardian. We will marry and I will bear you many children. We will be happy. I can see it in my mind." Bryn told him before pulling him down to her height so she could kiss him. When they broke apart, she grabbed her bag and they snuck out of the palace and into the forest. The dim evening light barely came through the trees, making it a little hard for them to see, but they pressed on. They needed to find that mystic passageway that would take them to Alfheim. Their feet made no sound as they walked and because of it, they immediately knew something was wrong when they heard a fallen branch snapping. The couple stopped and looked wearily around. That was when Vali caught sight of five figures at the tops of the small ravine they were in. He turned to Bryn and held her face in his hands, locking his gaze with hers.

"Bryn, I need you to trust me and run as fast as you can away from here without looking back." he whispered to her. She looked back at him with an expression of fear and confusion that gave Vali a pang of painful guilt.

"Vali, what was that? Why do I have to run?"

"Just please trust me and go. I will meet you in Alfheim. I promise." After a moment, the elf nodded. "I love you." Vali told her before kissing her forehead and nudging her in the direction she needed to run. He watched and felt his heart ache as Bryn ran off with silent and elvish speed. Then he turned around to see the figures approaching him. Now he could make out that four of them were warriors and one was a man who had sworn to kill him.

"My my, running off to save the Alfar, are we?" he heard the man's voice call. It was a voice Vali had hoped to never hear again. "It is noble of you to send away your lover, but to be honest, I could easily go after her and kill her. She cannot run from me. The only reason I let her go was because I know she will die in the war anyway."

"Come to make good on your oath, I see. You were imprisoned the last I heard of you. How did you escape?" Vali replied coolly. He wasn't going to let this vile man get to him by talking about Bryn.

"Dear boy, your father is not the only man who knows the shadows. It seems my abilities have been underestimated. It was not hard to escape."

"And now you have come to claim my head even though it was I who was wronged in the first place. I have news for you, Taldr Ynson. You are going to need more than four warriors and your sorry sorcery skills to bring me down." Vali sneered as he lowered his hood.

"Rotn was not just my apprentice. He was like a son to me. Do you really think I would not be thorough in my revenge? You have underestimated me again, Son of Loki."

"And you underestimate me. I have prepared myself for this." The dark haired young man did not back away when the warriors drew their swords. "First, you seek vengeance on my father for killing your traitor of a brother. Now you seek vengeance on me for defending my lover against your piece of scum apprentice. Is it me, or is your sense of justice a bit skewed?" Vali taunted, his emerald eyes glinting with confidence and amusement as he savored the look of outrage on Taldr's face. However, the time for that was over soon as the warriors lunged at him. Vali nonchalantly flung out his arms and knocked all of them back with an invisible force. "Oh, please." the young sorcerer scoffed as if he was insulted that they would try such a thing. Taldr sent a ball of flame straight at him, but he had only to raise the arm protected by the bracer Narfi had given him to block the attack. "Wow, you really are as stupid as I thought, playing with fire in a forest."

"Shut up, Lokison!" the man growled before creating a long whip of orange magic.

"A bit hot tempered, are we? Have some ice." Vali took a deep breath and raised his hand as if to blow a kiss, but instead, he blew a blast of snow and sharp ice crystals at his enemy. Taldr had to dissipate his whip in order to throw his hands up and block the blast. One of the warriors was coming at Vali again and the young man summoned a dagger of green energy which he threw and it went straight through the warrior's armor, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, it distracted Vali long enough for Taldr to recreate his whip and wrap it around the young sorcerer's arm and fling him to the ground. The three remaining warriors pounced on him, but he was only able to push off one with his free arm.

"Not so cocky when you cannot move." It was Taldr's turn to taunt as Vali struggled. The older sorcerer leaned over him, smirking as he looked him up and down. Then he caught sight of the amulet that had fallen out from under Vali's tunic. "Ooh, what have we here? A blood pact...with your little brother no doubt." The man laughed. "This is wonderful. I can kill two birds with one stone. Both the killer and the one who let him die. Perfect."

"Leave Narfi out of this!" Vali growled as he continued to struggle. Taldr laughed again.

"Why, Swordweaver, would I ever do that?" With these words, he took a pinch of pink powder from a pouch on his belt and tossed it in Vali's face. "Breath deep, pretty boy." A moment later, Vali could feel his body changing. His face was growing longer, his senses sharper, his skin hairier, his mind angrier, until he had become a large, green eyed black wolf. "Soldiers, I would recommend you get off him and run for your lives. Large, feral, mindless wolves do not like to be held down."

* * *

Narfi sat in the palace gardens, enjoying the sunset with Nörvi and feeling completely at peace. He had been there with her all day, undisturbed. It was a tranquility he had never known before. He did not regret taking up his girlfriend's offer of a day off from work.

"Nörvi, when I am old enough, I will ask you to marry me." he said softly as he entwined his fingers with hers. She beamed back at him, pleasantly surprised by his words.

"Truly?"

"I would not have said it if I did not mean it." Narfi replied with a smirk before kissing the young healer. She reciprocated eagerly, allowing him to ignore the sudden burning sensation over his heart. When they broke apart, however, he frowned and put his hand to his chest. With every moment, the burning was growing in its intensity.

"Narfi? What is the matter?" Nörvi asked, her brow furrowing at her boyfriend's behavior. Narfi let out a gut-wrenching cry of pain and her eyes widened. "Are you alright? Tell me what is wrong!" She took his face her hands as he began trembling violently and gritted his teeth.

"I am sorry, Nörvi. I must go. Do not wait for me." he managed to wheeze. Hand shaking, he reached into his pocket and then put something in her hand. "I love you." he said before kissing her forehead and bolting off towards the forest.

He ran as fast as he could, driven on by the agonizing burning feeling. His white healer's robe trailed behind him. The darkness in the forest did not seem to slow him down at all. His body knew exactly where it was going. All he could think of was what could be happening to Vali. What felt like moments later, Narfi found himself in a small ravine. There were four dead soldiers lying on the ground, three of whom looked as if they had been torn to shreds by some sort of beast. Then he saw it, a black wolf with green eyes. There was a fiery glow coming from underneath the fur at the base of its neck at it was whimpering in pain. Narfi approached it slowly, knowing it was his brother. It looked up at him and growled.

"Vali? What happened to you? Who turned you into a wolf?" The only response he got was another growl and bared fangs. "Brother, it is I, Narfi. Calm down and let me look you over." He was very close now. He could reach out and touch Vali if he wished. He began to, but paused when he looked in the beast's eyes. There was no trace of his brother in there. He was nothing but a feral wolf now. Narfi gasped and the last thing he ever knew was the wolf's jaws.

**A/N: ...and I'll leave off with that before this chapter becomes too long. Please don't kill me. There will be one more chapter after this. It'll wrap up everything that happened in this one and end the fic. I have a little contest for my reviewers. The first person who can tell me what each line of the rhyme in Sigyn's bowl meant gets a fic request (If you are anon, tell me your prompt with your review. I might do it anyway, even if you don't win.). Thank you for reading, as always. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Cheers! ~T.Z.**


	12. Lost

**A/N: Hullo! Welcome to the conclusion of Slightly Dysfunctional! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews and sorry for keeping you waiting. Please enjoy this and keep sending me reviews. Virtual cookies for you all!**

**WARNING: The first half of this chapter is very depressing and a bit disturbing. You may need a box of tissues.**

Lost

It brought Loki little comfort to know that he was going to be tried for killing his brother, especially when he returned home to discover Sigyn crying and both of his sons missing. Together, they went out looking for them. They had a feeling they already knew where Vali had gone as Bryn was missing as well, but they knew Narfi would not go with his brother, so something must have happened. First, they went to Nörvi and avoided public places because everyone thought Loki had committed fratricide. It was a miracle in their eyes that the girl would speak to them, considering that fact.

"I was watching the sunset with him last night and then he started acting strangely and crying out in pain. He said he had to go and he ran off towards the forest. I have been so very worried." the teen explained. She then took something out of her pocket and showed it to them. It was a small rose made of black crystal. The very same one that she had given Narfi the day he had fallen from the bridge. "He gave this back to me. I do not think he would do that unless he believed he was going into danger." Loki and Sigyn looked back at her with expressions of horror and the blond woman reached out to close Nörvi's fingers around the small object.

"Thank you, dear. We will let you know if we find him." she told the young healer before she left with her husband. The couple went out to the forest, trying to feel the presence of their son's magic to guide them to him. A deep feeling of dread filled their hearts the further they walked. An eerie morning mist filled the air in the forest that carried the faintest whiff of blood. They followed the scent as it grew stronger and stronger. It led them to a small ravine where they caught sight of six bodies. One of them was surrounded by white cloth stained bright red in several places. "No...no..." Sigyn muttered and she and Loki ran over to the body. Sure enough, through all the blood, they could clearly see Narfi's clouded blue-gray eyes staring blankly back at them. The teen's right hand was over his heart and his left was clutching the black fur of the dead wolf lying next to him. Its muzzle was also covered in red and the fur at the base of it's neck was heavily singed. The look of pain in its dead green orbs said that it had died in agony.

For a moment, the couple just stared, unable to process what they were seeing. Then it hit them and Sigyn fell to her knees, shaking violently as she reached out to hold the side of Narfi's head against her chest. Loud, heart wrenching sobs began to escape her with every breath. Loki knelt down next to her and passed a shaking hand over the wolf. It began to change until Vali's form lay there. A hole was burned straight through his clothing right over his heart. It revealed an emerald amulet seared into Vali's skin with burn lines like veins spreading from it.

"No. No. NO. NO!" Loki roared, pounding his fists to ground in anger and grief. Tears rolled freely down his face as he reached over and closed Vali's eyes. "My sons...my sons...WHY!"

"Fitting, is it not? You took everything from me, now I have taken everything from you. I turned Vali into a mindless beast and Narfi was drawn here by their blood pact. It was very entertaining to watch Vali tear his own little brother's throat out and then die slowly and painfully with him from the fires of his own stupidity." a sneering voice came from a tree at the top of the ravine. Loki and Sigyn looked up to see Taldr Ynson hop down from the tree and lower the hood of his burgundy cloak. The moment he saw the man's face, Loki's mind was consumed with anger.

"Say hello to Hela for me, scum." Loki said, his voice low and more dangerous than it had ever been before. Before Taldr could react, the trickster was on his feet and holding out his hand, immobilizing the man with an invisible force. "But not just yet. I am going to kill you, slowly, carefully, until you have tasted every last flicker of my fury." There was an echo of power in Loki's voice and wisps of lime green energy began to curl around his entire body. Taldr laughed maniacally at him.

"If you kill me, you have no chance of clearing your name. You will be a brother killer for the rest of your miserable life. But then again, it does not matter because no one will believe a word you say." Taldr sneered, making it clear that it was he who disguised himself as the Trickster and killed Baldr with a mistletoe poisoned arrow. Loki didn't say anything to this, but his eyes began to glow with green fire. A knife formed in his hand and he approached his enemy, intent on cutting him into ribbons, but he stopped when Sigyn cried out.

"No, Loki! If you torture him, you will just become like him! I beg you, please do not go down that path!" She was holding both of her sons now, looking at her husband with streaming eyes. After a moment, he looked back at Taldr, who was still laughing, and the wisps of magic around him flew toward the other sorcerer, incinerating him. Fury spent, Loki collapsed to his knees again and wrapped his arms around his wife and dead sons, openly weeping.

* * *

Both the funeral and the trial were very short. Loki knew going in that he had no chance of being let go. He was sentenced to imprisonment until Odin saw fit to release him. What he didn't know was that what they had in mind when they said imprisonment meant he would be tied down with a snake hanging over him, dripping acidic venom onto his bare back. It was agonizing and for a long time, Loki wished that they had just executed him and allowed him to escape the nightmare his life had become. However, that changed when Sigyn came, draped in white, and held her magic bowl over him to catch the poison. She was all he had left, a beacon of hope in the darkness, and she had come to ease his pain.

"Stay strong, my love." she said to Loki softly as she used one hand to brush the hair out of his face before quickly replacing it under her bowl. He looked up at her slowly, his eyes surrounded by very dark circles, and spoke in a soft, raspy voice.

"How can I? My sons are with Hela, my reputation is in ashes, and I am doomed to be bound here until Odin thinks I have been punished enough." At his words, Sigyn rested her forehead against his.

"When you are released, we will pick up the pieces together. I will always be here for you, Loki. Do not give up." she soothed. The prince shifted and kissed her hungrily, as if it was the only way he knew how to express gratitude to her. They only broke apart when Sigyn felt the bowl grow heavy in her hands. "I must empty my bowl now. A few drops may fall on you while I do it." She then moved away and poured the contents out of the magic bowl. Without her there, two drops of venom fell on Loki's back and though he had no energy left for even a cry of aguish, a clear expression of pain appeared on his face. Sigyn held the bowl under the snake again as quickly as she could. "Sorry."

"Sigyn, do not feel the need to apologize to me for anything. None of this was your fault. If anything, I brought this upon myself." Loki told her, resting his head on her shoulder. He never wanted to hear her apologize to him. To him, she was flawless. How could such a perfect woman love him, a heavily flawed and broken man, especially when it brought her such pain? It wasn't fair to her. "What have I ever done to deserve you?"

"You cared when no one else did. You respected me when no one else did. You understood when no one else did. The least I can do in return is be the loving, loyal wife that you deserve." Sigyn replied firmly, yet with a sadness that Loki did not miss. She hated it when he talked like this, with such self loathing, as if he was some sort of monster. He began to tremble and she could feel his tears soak the cloth covering her shoulder.

"I love you so much and I am so so sorry for everything I have put you through." he whispering to her, sounding the most vulnerable she had ever heard him. This was his weakest moment.

"Stay strong, Loki. I am here." she said comfortingly before emptying her bowl and returning it as quickly as she could. Eventually, Loki calmed and for a very long time, they remained silent, taking solace in each other's presence. After a while, Sigyn began to grow weaker and weaker and they both were even thinner than they had been before. However, even though she couldn't replace her bowl as quickly as she used to and her arms were incredibly tired, Sigyn didn't give up. She kept holding that bowl until one day, Forseti Baldrson came and released Loki, saying that Odin had decided to release him finally. When the snake was taken away and the Trickster's bindings were cut, he fell into Sigyn's arms and she fell over with him, too weak to hold him up. The dark haired man took her into his arms with what was left of his strength and staggeringly got to his feet, determined to be the one to look after her after everything she'd done for him. Forseti, who was now a young man, put a hand on his uncle's shoulder.

"I have to know." he began, his pure blue eyes gazing at the prince with intensity. "Did you kill my father?" At this, Loki stopped and didn't say anything for a long moment. "You should know that I can tell if you lie."

"No, I did not kill your father, Forseti. I killed the man who killed your father." Loki finally answered and the young man believed him. It was true that he could not lie or be lied to. The mortals now called him the God of Justice and Truth. He was Loki's polar opposite, and yet, the dark haired man felt stronger with his nephew's hand on his shoulder. Soon, they were in the palace and Forseti made sure that his aunt and uncle made it to the healers before going on his way. Loki passed out as soon as they took his wife off his hands and the healers quickly put him in a bed next to Sigyn's.

* * *

Many months later, both Loki and Sigyn finally awoke and were told they would be back to full health in another week.

"May we see Lady Eir's daughter, Nörvi?" Sigyn asked one of the healers.

"Lady Nörvi has not been here for a long time, my lady. She left not long after she heard Lord Narfi was dead." the young woman explained, looking about nervously like she wasn't supposed to talk about this.

"Why?"

"There is a rumor that she was pregnant and ran away to have her baby in the forest, but please do not tell anyone that you heard that from me."

"Thank you." Sigyn said, smiling at the young healer. The first thing Loki and Sigyn did when they fully recovered was go looking for Nörvi and they found her deep in the forest in a tightly sealed hut. When Loki knocked on her door, the voice of not a teenage girl, but a tired grown woman answered.

"Who is it and what do you want?"

"It is Loki and Sigyn. We wish to speak with you." A moment later, a tall, dark haired woman answered the door who looked different than the girl the couple had known. Gone were the braids and cheerful aura. She was almost gaunt with thinness and she wore a dark blue gown instead of the white robes of a healer. Her blue eyes, once so pure and happy were now full of an inner bitterness as she looked at Loki and Sigyn, though outwardly they showed surprise at seeing the two.

"Come in." There was a resignation in Nörvi's voice as she stepped aside to allow them in. It was very dark inside the hut and it took them a moment to adjust. In the corner, they could see a small, raven haired girl lying on a bed of pillows, fast asleep. A familiar black crystal rose hung from her neck. "Please be quiet. She gets very moody if you wake her up before dusk." the woman whispered, causing her guests to raise their eyebrows. It wasn't hard for her to guess what they were thinking. "She is my five year old daughter, Nótt. Your granddaughter."

"You gave birth to her all alone out here?" Loki asked and Nörvi nodded.

"I admit, I was scared at first, but I have helped other woman give birth before and being a healer, I knew how to do it by myself. As much as the process hurt, I never once thought of going home. I was too terrified. Terrified of what my mother would say. Terrified of being an unmarried, teenage mother to a child whose father is dead in a society that does not look upon such things with favor." Nörvi explained and the couple listened intently. "I was grief stricken and my baby was more important to me than anything else, so I fled. Ever since then, I have lived her and been raising Nótt on the principles that Narfi so strongly believed in." At her last statement, Loki and Sigyn gave her smiles of gratitude and approval that warmed her heart a little.

"You said see does not like to be awake before dusk. Is she nocturnal?"

"I noticed very quickly after she was born that sunlight burns her easily and makes her feel ill. She and I mostly live at night now because of it and she can see very well in the dark. Even better than I can." A few moments after the woman said this, they heard small groans coming from the child and looked over to see that she was awake. Her irises were a piercing silver and when they caught what little light was in the room, they shone like stars.

"Oh, you are here. It is about the right time, I suppose." the little girl said upon seeing Loki and Sigyn. They looked back at her in confusion. "Sometimes, when I look at the moon, I see things. Sometimes I see you. You are the ones who made father."

"Hello, Nótt. Yes we are. It is very interesting that you can see things in the moon. Do you see things that actually happen later?" Sigyn replied, smiling at the child and kneeling down to be at eye level with her.

"Sometimes. Why?"

"You got that gift from your father and he got that from me."

"You see things in the moon too?"

"Not quite. The Gift presents itself in dreams usually and much later on in one's life." The woman was giving her granddaughter a look of deep sympathy and worry. How could the Fates burden a five year old with such a thing? How cruel. "Do the things you see ever bother you?" If this was harming Nótt, she was going to fix it.

"No." the child responded simply, giving Sigyn a little relief. The woman turned to Nörvi, looking very serious.

"If Nótt ever has problems with her visions, send for me. I can help her."

"Grandfather, you are Asgard's greatest sorcerer. Will you teach me magic?" The girl's attention was now on Loki and he grinned kindly down at her, though his heart ached agonizingly at the memory of Vali asking him the very same question a long time ago.

"She badly wants to learn sorcery, but she cannot do it yet." Nörvi put it, causing Nótt to frown at her. The girl was very determined to be a mighty sorceress one day. Loki laughed at patted his granddaughter's head.

"One day, if you still wish it and magic shows itself in you, I will gladly teach you." he told the girl and she beamed at him.

"Nörvi, you and Nótt can come back and live with us if you would like." Sigyn offered, wanting to help and be a part of her granddaughter's life. The young woman shook her head, looking sorrowful.

"No, we are not ready. Maybe one day we will be, but until then, we will remain here, though you are free to visit us." Nörvi replied and Sigyn hugged her tightly.

"Nótt, I have a little gift for you." Loki suddenly said and the silver eyed girl lit up. From the depths of his cloak, the trickster pulled a silver wristband covered in knot designs and slid Nótt's hand through it. It shrank it fit her wrist and she gaze at it in awe. "This will protect you from the sun."

"Thank you, grandfather!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. He chuckled and gently squeezed her back. It felt odd, being a grandparent, but not bad. It was plain enough to see that the child was descended from him. His genes always caused little quirks. With the triplets, it had been shapeshifting and a unique connection to the dead. With Vali and Narfi, it had been a father's son and a heartbreaking nobility complex. Now there was Nótt, who was nocturnal, and he was going to do everything in his power to protect her, especially from himself because openly associating with him had led to tragedy time and time again. He was going to be her mentor in secret.

"I have something to tell you, little one." he told her softly, pulling her closer so he could whisper to her, playing it off to the women like he was just hugging her more tightly. "You must always trust the darkness, for you know it and it is your friend. I will be there amongst the shadows, ready to offer guidance and catch you when you fall. You have but to call my name." he whispered and he knew she would never forget those words for the rest of her life.

* * *

Not long after their visit with Nörvi and Nótt, Loki and Sigyn received Thor as a guest in their (restored) tower. He told them about everything that had happened in the five years they had been away, starting with what had happened with the war. It seemed that the AllFather had decided to go with Thor's plan in the end and forced peace between the dwarves and elves, but only after Alfheim endured much suffering.

"What has become of Bryn?" Loki asked his brother, hoping that perhaps they would be able to visit her. The hesitation Thor gave before answering told the couple their worst fears even before he spoke.

"Bryn perished. I am sorry." The sadness in his blue eyes was very genuine. He had fought beside the elf girl and been there when she had died. He had seen why Vali had loved her so much. "She died a warrior's death, ferociously defending her wounded kin." Something about those words were of great comfort to Loki and Sigyn.

"Thank you, brother." The trickster could feel his heart mending a little. He still had his wife, his brother, his grandchild and her mother. All was not lost.

**A/N: Okay, before anybody says anything, Nótt is actually mythologically canon and is the Goddess of the Night. There is speculation that Narfi may be one of her parents. In the version of the Eddas that I own, it says Nótt is the child of someone called Nörvi so I compromised by having both and I think it works out rather nicely. Okay, now moving on. Thank you so very much for reading all the way through this fic. I truly hope you enjoyed it and sorry if I made you cry, but if I did, that means I have done my job as a writer by stirring your emotions. For those of you who don't want this to be the end for Vali and Narfi, I'm working on a post-Avengers AU fic where they are alive (you may have seen my little comic thing called Avengers Meet Lokisons that it will be based on floating around deviantArt). If any of you like the show Sherlock, I'm also working on an Avengelock fic in which, at some point, there will be discussion of Sigyn (because I can never resist bringing up Sigyn when Loki is involved in something). I was also thinking of perhaps writing a fic about Loki and Nótt as a sort of sequel to this (if anyone is interested). In any case, thank you for everything. Please review. Okay, I'll shut up now. ~T.Z.**


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